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Nihil Obstat, 

Rev. Joseph Bruneau, S. S. 

Censor Deputatus. 
September 14,1920 


IMPRIMATUR: 

James Carbtnal (Stbbmts, 

Srcptefjop of Baltimore, 


Copyright 


FEB 23 192'DC!, A608454 




CONTENTS 


Page 


Preface . 7 

Introduction . 8 


CHAPTER I. 

Children of Illustrious Parents . 9-24 

1. In the name of Jesus.—2. Children of illustrious 
parents.—3. Judge of oneself.—4. Special obliga¬ 
tions.—5. Order Our Lady.—6. Esteem of one’s 
profession.—7. St. John of the Cross our special 
master.—8. Five minutes of examination.—9. 
Nearly always at the top.—10. Beginners are not 
forgotten. 


CHAPTER II. 

St. John of the Cross and the Precautions . 25-35 

1. Preface by the Saint.—2. Abridgment of Perfec¬ 
tion.—3. The world and its principal induce¬ 
ments. Three counsels concerning them.—4. The 
devil and his threefold temptations against good 
persons.—5. Three counsels in regard to these.— 

6. Our own nature and its bad inclinations.—7. 

Last three “Cautelas.”—8. Most sublime perfec¬ 
tion accessible to all. 


CHAPTER III. 

The First Precaution against the World—Our Neigh¬ 
bor . 36-48 

1. Words of the Saint.—2. Apparent harshness and 
erroneous opinions.—3. Spiritual education. 

Model of a good educator.—4. How to understand 
the mind of a holy writer.—5. Defects in the bio- 







Page 


graphies of the saints—6. St. John of the Cross 
and his social manners.—7. His Letters.—8. He 
showed himself in them as he was.—9. The author 
of the Letters does not seem to be the same as the 
one of the “Precautions.”—10. Need of an explana¬ 
tion. Quotation from St. Teresa. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Continuation of the Same. 

1. Creation and Life according to the holy Doctor of 
Carmel.—2. He dislikes heartless men.—3. Broth¬ 
erly love the support and pledge of the love of 
God.—4. St. John of the Cross a poet of the heart. 
—5. Broad horizon of the spirit and of the heart. 
—6. Triple character of the love of the saints.—7. 
Auto-portrait of St. John of the Ci’oss.—8. Poverty 
of the human heart and a powerful re-agent.—9. 
Universal love and most prudent advice.—10. 
Childish men and the curative system of St. John 
of the Cross.—11. No right to complain of ex¬ 
cessive rigor.—12. Coldness of the heart.—13. 
Moral distinctions. 

CHAPTER V. 

The Second Precaution against the World—Worldly 

Riches . 

1. Words of the Saint.—2. Riches of the world form 
the second danger to virtue.—3. Natural and law¬ 
ful to have certain affections.—4. How man has 
distorted the desire for possessions.—5. Exhaust- 
less fountain of disorders.—6. Threats and 
eulogies.—7. Divine promises to the poor of 
spirit.—8. Neither riches nor misery.—9. Vow 
of poverty. Definition of St. Thomas.—lo. How 
easily the heart is attached to worldy things, no 
matter whether great or small.—11. Downfall of 
many souls.—12. Fountain of peace. 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Third Precaution against the World—Not to 

Interfere in Other Men’s Affairs. 

1. Words of the Saint.—2. Bad example in the re¬ 
ligious life. The saints were practical and sincere. 
—3. Ordinary causes of scandal.—4. Real faults 


49-68 


69-84 


85-97 





Page 


in religious houses.—5. The devil tempts saints. 
Prayer of Jesus for souls that are tempted. St. 
Peter, Job, friends of Jesus.—6. Divine Provi¬ 
dence wants us to profit by our failings.—7. Great 
souls are not scandalized. Human weaknesses 
harm more the incautious who observe them than 
the weak persons themselves.—8. Salutary advice 
and energetic language of our holy Father.—9. 
An observation. Religious vocation a gift of God; 
it does not make us impeccable.—10. Great advan¬ 
tages of religious vocation. View it from the last 
moment of life. 


CHAPTER VII. 

Rash Judgment and Gossiping . 98-114 

1. Severe but fatherly admonition.—2. Interior mur¬ 
murs. Ignoring the intentions of our neighbor. 

—3. Sickly souls. Notable observation of St. 
Thomas: He who easily judges reveals the bottom 
of his own soul.—4. Terrible threats against evil 
thinkers; St. Paul, St. Thomas. The holy Gos¬ 
pels. God is more benign than we in judging our 
neighbor.—5. Excuses that are not very safe.—6. 

Sins of the tongue proceed from auto-intoxication. 

—7. Damages of an imprudent word.—8. Effects of 
backbiting. Holy Scripture condemns back¬ 
biters.—9. Sins of the tongue are the enemies of 
charity and peace.—10. Backbiters and the Pillar 
of Salt. Mountain of Cardona.—11. Souls that 
turn everything about them barren.—12. Religious 
houses according to the designs of God. A great 
danger.—13. Opportune observation. A prudent 
superior.—14. Foretaste of heaven. Words of St. 

Teresa of Jesus. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

Precautions against the Devil—Preface—Power of 

the Devil .115-126 

1. Words of the Saint.—2. Belief in the power of the 
evil spirits. Testimony of holy Scripture. Dia¬ 
bolical spirit opposed to the children of the 
Church.—3. Neither incredulous nor fanatic.—4. 
Beautitude is a reward. It requires one’s co¬ 
operation. The devil tries to frustrate it.—5. He 
has special interest in tempting the good. Worth 




Page 


of a perfect soul. They hide themselves. The 
devil cannot easily ruin them; he can disturb 
them —6. The mask of the enemy of souls.—7, 

Notable passage from St. John of the Cross on 
different delusions of the devil.—8. Many people 
seem to be good and live deluded; how much they 
harm themselves and others.—9. They would be 
horrified if they knew it. Sincere examination. 

The devil is satisfied with many good persons. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Fourth Precaution, and the First against the Devil 

Live always under Obedience .127-140 

1. Words of the Saint.—2. How pleasing to God is 
obedience.—3. Through obedience man receives 
the blessing of God.—4. Two mottoes, Non Serv¬ 
ians, and Fiat Voluntas Tua.—5. Children of the 
devil. Brothers, sisters, and Mother of Jesus. He 
Who neither deceives nor exaggerates.—6. Obedi¬ 
ence. The basis of all order and guarantee of 
success.—7. Merit of good works lies in obedience. 

Isaias, St. John of the Cross.—8. Testimony of St. 

Teresa. Religious institutes cannot exist without 
obedience.—9. Why saints are so zealous for obedi¬ 
ence. Entire sacrifice of man to God.—10. We 
cannot reclaim what we have once given to God. 
Religious who elude obedience commit a kind of 
sacrilege.—11. Necessity of acquiring the virtue 
of obedience. Admirable testimony of Hedley. A 
good citizen, but not a good religious. 

CHAPTER X. 

The Vow and the Virtue of Obedience .141-152 

1. It is not enough to keep the vow, it is necessary 
also to practice the virtue.—2. Between two ex¬ 
tremes.—3. Sin is very seldom committed against 
the vow.—4. How sad a life fruitlessly laborious. 

—5. Neither grave sins, nor solid virtues. A ter¬ 
rible threat.—6. Lord, I always did my will, but 
never intended anything against the vows. Poor 
excuse.—7. Reprove the useless servant neither 
breaking the vow nor acquiring virtue.—8. The 
vow is the root, the virtue is the tree.—9. Five 
great advantages of obedience.—10. Words of St. 
Teresa. 




CHAPTER XI. 


Page 

Fifth Precaution, The Second against the Devil.— 

How WE SHOULD REGARD OUR SUPERIORS—TlIEIR 

duties .153-173 

1. Words of the Saint.—2. Importance of this sub¬ 
ject.—3. Human imperfections of the superior and 
lack of virtue in the inferior.—4. Dignities are 
also tests. Some are so weak that a little honor 
makes them dizzy.—5. More liberty. A good 
superior seeks to have less.—6. Reflections on the 
first superior of the Church.—7. The best superior 
has the most generous heart. Every man needs 
affection.—8. Two practical examples.—9. Behold 
the man.—10. The superior a father. He has no 
right to repel. He blesses. We feel loved.—11. 

The greatest moral force lies in the affection. How 
Divine Providence grants it. Human nature is 
very poor in affection.—12. The superior must 
look after his subjects. Repulsive natures. Per¬ 
sons who seem to have no other mission than to 
annoy others.—13. Hours of test for the su¬ 
perior. Voice of conscience, and voice of wounded 
pride.—14. How difficult it is to attend to con¬ 
science. Groanings of Moses.—15. The ungrateful 
and the imperfect. Words of Ezechiel the Proph¬ 
et.—16. The example of the superior and his 
responsibility.—17. Celebrated and terrible words 
of St. Teresa.—18. Poor superiors. 


CHAPTER XII. 

The Obligations of the subject .174-185 

1. The superior is the messenger of God.—2. Pro¬ 
fessional object of religious persons. There is 
very seldom open rebellion.—3. A secret rebellion 
is very dangerous. Doctrine of St. Thomas.—4. 

Mortal sin through contempt or to frustrate the 
end of religious life.—5. The religious state the 
radical remedy for moral diseases of the human 
heart.—6. The essentials of the religious life.—7. 

Weak and enigmatic persons in religious com¬ 
munities.—8. They are in great danger of mortal 
sin.—9. They have a poor excuse: Lamentable 
state of conscience.—10. Warnings of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 




chapter XIII 


Page 

Religious Obedience . 186-201 

1. To look to the qualities of the superior is to lose 
all the merit of obedience.—2. It is easy to form 
judgments and have unfavorable conversations 
against the superior.—3. The most delicate flower 
of charity. Depth of human pride.—4. First mur¬ 
muring and rebellion in the world. Its conse¬ 
quences.— 5. Scandal in religious houses.—6. Su¬ 
periors are not infallible. We must be guided by 
reason, but reason itself tells us to obey with 
simple submission.—7. The point of view of the 
superior. Ideals and practice.—8. A Spider's 
cobweb for many souls. An opportune observa¬ 
tion of great value.—9. TJie tale-bearer and the 
good angel of the superior.—10. An observation 
is not an imposition.—11. Genuine religious spirit. 

Our Rule.—12. Example of the saints and of 
Jesus.—13. Jesus in the Eucharist, a perfect model 
of obedience. Obey, suffer, and be silent. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Sixth Precaution, and the Third against the Devil— 

Humility . 202-218 

1. Words of St. John of the Cross.—2. What is best 
known is generally practised worst. False con¬ 
ception of humility.—3. For St. John of the Cross 
humility is the daughter of love and light: For 
St. Teresa it is of truth. Notable passage of St. 

John.—4. Love never says enough.—5. A learned 
and pure person thinks his works unworthy of 
such a great Lord. This is the fountain of true 
humility.—6. Words of St. Teresa: Humility is 
Truth. A room where much light enters. There 
is no humility without much light.—7. Not all is 
bad in us. Humility does not disavow our own 
perfections. Words of St. Teresa. Humility takes 
a man as he is.—8. Our holy Father and our holy 
Mother in perfect harmony. They are the great 
masters of humility.—9. St. Teresa must be under¬ 
stood. Error is the mask of truth. What it is to 
walk in truth. To know how to use the gifts of 
God.—10. Self-love exaggerates our good qualities 
and lessens our defects. Each virtue carries with 
it a responsibility.—11. Everything for the good 
of all. Nothing to wound anyone.—12. Vanity 




Page 


supposes some defect in the mind or in the heart. 

—13. To the vain the Lord denies a multitude of 
gifts for their own good. 

CHAPTER XV. 

Humility and Pride. 219-231 

1. How humility is directly opposed to the diaboli¬ 
cal spirit.—2. How much God loves the humble. 

—3. Humility the foundation of greatness. Teach¬ 
ing of the Divine Master on humility.—4. The 
whole life and doctrine of Jesus a canticle of 
humility.—5. God takes pleasure in humbling the 
proud and casting them aside.—6. The proud seek 
to appropriate the glory due to God alone.—7. 

Pride, the most deeply rooted capital sin, a devia¬ 
tion of a holy aspiration.—8. Self-love not bad in 
itself, but only in its ways and means. Is a sure 
road to greatness.—9. Words of St. John of the 
Cross.—10. Pride the father of envy. It destroys 
souls.—11. The wicked spirit fosters it. Very 
common evil. 


CHAPTER XVI. 

Vanity and Pride .232-248 

1. Pride and wine.—2. Self-love is a help to virtue. 

—3. All are children of God. The nothing of St. 

John of the Cross. It is necessary to educate 
self-love; not to destroy it.—4. Little talent is 
needed to know self-love. Vanity, the first fruit 
of self-love. The vain and th© drunkard.— 5. Pride 
rises threateningly over the ruins of vanity. A 
diabolical vice. Contradiction and overthrow en¬ 
liven it.—6. Vanity and pride must be cured from 
within.—7. A harmless silly pride is almost inno¬ 
cent. The vain quickly become proud. The proud 
are like drunkards, never satisfied.—8. Pride, a 
universal vice. Its manifold expressions.—9. Tal¬ 
ent is not enough to avoid pride. Men think well 
as long as their selfishness is not hurt.—10. 
“Leave him alone, for that is his way.”—11. This 
evil is not recognized by those affected. Words 
of St. John of the Cross.—12. Cure of self-love.— 

13. Humility and charity. It is right to ask much 
from religious persons.—14. Foundation of the 
religious life. Overcome evil by good.—15. Value 
of an act of humility. Drive the devil away. 
Rejoicing of the heart. 




CHAPTER XVII. 


Page 

Our Neighbor the Agent of our Santtfication .249-268 

1. Words of St. John of the Cross—2. Nature is op¬ 
posed to virtue—3. God created man a sociable 
being. The first man alone in paradise.—4. Man 
made society difficult, education makes it easier. 

—5. A good education the helper of virtue. Nota¬ 
ble observation.—6. Christian charity and educa¬ 
tion.—7. Point of view of St. John of the Cross.— 

8. Psychology of the saints.—9. Divine Providence. 
Everything for the good of His elects.—10. See 
Divine Providence in all things. The example of 
David.—11. It is Providence that brings persons 
together who are naturally at variance.—12. The 
best benefactors.—13. Voice of selfishness.—14. 

Most opportune comments. Contemplating the 
agitations of one’s own heart.—15. Nobody should 
rejoice at another man’s sufferings.—16. Without 
executioners there would be no ma#yrs. Office of 
the good angel.—17. Love for those who mortify 
us. Testimony of St. Teresa and of St. John of 
the Cross.—18. Insignificant details of daily life. 

—19. Prolonged but easy martyrdom. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Eighth Precaution, the Second against the Flesh 269'-289 
1. Words of St. John of the Cross.—2. Motive of 
human actions. Pleasure is a lawful incitement. 

—3. To act for the sake of pleasure is degrad¬ 
ing.—4. God punishes men by allowing them to 
do their own will. Man must be guided by his 
reason and not by pleasure.—5. Folly of spirit. 

St. John of the Cross the most able master of the 
spirit and a deep psychologist.—6. Pleasure taken 
in creatures is degrading. They are crumbs fall¬ 
ing from the table of the Father of the family.—7. 

Effects of pleasure. Most beautiful words of St. 

John of the Cross.—8. Desire for pleasure is 
never satisfied; it makes everything useless and 
darkens the mind.—9v A safe rule.'Worthy answer 
of a saint. Dictates of conscience.—10. Great 
characters.—11. Childish men; they suffer much. 

—12. They lose the merits of their good works 
and deserve severe punishment.—13. First stimu¬ 
lus of our actions. Names written in heaven.—14. 

How to be useful to all and to oneself. Saints do 



Page 


not impair human nature.—15. Moral pruning. 

—16. The pure receive the hundred fold even in 
this life.—17. The life of St. John of the Cross, 
a practical demonstration of his teaching. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Ninth Precaution and the Third against the Flesh. .290-313 
1. Words of St. John of the Cross.—2. To prefer sor¬ 
row to pleasure.—3. The man who always controls 
his sorrows is very great.—4. How suffering can 
be cherished.—5. Suffering expiates.—6. It puri¬ 
fies and adorns. It is purgatory in this life and 
a great blessing of God.—7. Suffering obtains all 
things from God. Power of tears.—8. Suffering 
renders us like our Lord Jesus Christ.—9. The 
cross is the symbol of suffering through love.—10. 
Instructions on suffering given by our Lord to St. 

Teresa of Jesus.—11. To suffer or to die. The 
saints and sufferings.—12. The psychology of the 
saints and of worldly persons.—13. Persons con¬ 
secrated to God should neither ignore nor dislike 
sufferings.—14. First class of suffering.—15. 

Second cliass.—16. Voluntary sufferings.—17. 

Words of St. John of the Cross. 

CHAPTER XX. 

The Precautions of St. John of the Cross and the 

Spirit of Carmel ...314-341 

1. Providential mission of St. John of the Cross.—2. 

These precautions contain his fundamental and 
general doctrine.—3. He does not consider them 
mere counsels, but precepts to be observed. They 
are the genuine expression of the spirit of Carmel. 

—4. The spirit of a congregation is embodied in 
its founders. That of Elias, sweet and austere, 
continuous prayer and great enterprise for the 
glory of God.—5. Carmelite sketches.—6. St. John 
of the Cross and St. Teresa have the same spirit, 
though it may not be apparent. The world does 
not understand them.—7. The auto-portrait of 
both saints.—8. Gentleness of our holy Father.— 

9. Character of St. Teresa. Why she undertook 
the work of reform.—10. What is immutable and 
mutable in the spirit of Carmel.—11. Ideas must 
not be confused.—12. The essentials of the spirit 



Page 


of Carmel contained in these precautions. All of 
them can be observed by everybody. They are 
enough to sanctify us.—13. They facilitate the ful¬ 
fillment of other duties.—14. All of us have need of 
taking them well to the heart.—15. Well fixed in 
our conscience. For this purpose we came to the 
Order.—16.’The spirit of Carmel and the daugh¬ 
ters of St. Teresa.—17. The little Flower. The 
“Ascent of Mount Carmel” and the “Precautions.” 
—18. Religious.—19. Third Order. Secular per¬ 
sons and these precautions. A little heaven on 
earth. 

Foub Maxims to a Religious 


342-348 



PREFACE 


Three very powerful motives induced me to under¬ 
take the translation of “Santidad en el Claustro 6 
Comentarios a las Cautelas de San Juan de la Cruz,” 
recently written and published by the Very Rev. 
Father Lucas of St. Joseph, our actual Superior 
Provincial in the United States. 

.The first motive is the great love and veneration I 
have for the ecstatic and famous mystical Doctor of 
Carmel, St. John of the Cross, whose writings en¬ 
lighten the mind and move the will in a most astonish¬ 
ing way, gently leading the pious reader to put into 
practice the severe lessons contained in his heavenly 
books. 

The second motive is the respect and filial affection 
I entertain for the Author of these Commentaries and 
of several other important works, one of which is “St. 
Teresa’s Book Mark”, so well known to many Amer¬ 
ican Catholics. 

And the last but not the least motive, is the great 
regard and admiration I foster in my heart for the 
many zealous Religious Communities and the intelli¬ 
gent and devout Catholics of this great country. 

The desire of contributing my mite to the spiritual 
advancement of my American friends has induced me 
to undertake the translation of this Spanish work in 
asceticism, “Holiness in the Cloister or Commen¬ 
taries on the Precautions of St. John of the Cross.” 
And as I offer them the fruit of my arduous labor 
with sincere regards and affection, I beg their generous 
indulgence for all the deficiencies of my humble efforts. 

FATHER PASCHASIUS of 
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 0. C. D. 

Washington, September 8, 1920. 


INTRODUCTION 

I have been repeatedly asked by many of my friends 
to write something in continuation to my books, ‘ ‘ Con¬ 
fidences to a Youth’’ and “From my Cell,” that 
would do for the young who are already within the 
cloister what these did for those who are still in the 
world. Until the present, I never had a moment’s 
leisure even to attempt to please my friends who 
honored me with such a request. 

Divine Providence granted me a short period of rest 
in this great city, and I have devoted it to writing 
this little book, which I believe will serye, to a certain 
extent, the above mentioned purpose. This work, writ¬ 
ten in haste and without the necessary books for re¬ 
search, save the three or four which are quoted fre¬ 
quently, will be found somewhat deficient, especially 
in those points which are so familiar to all writers on 
the matter. As I am unable to give this book a rich and 
well-chosen erudition, it will appear as a very poor 
setting for that most precious literary and doctrinal 
gem, the “Cautelas”—Instructions—of St. John of the 
Cross, which it purposes to expound. Hence I recom¬ 
mend it as it is to the kindness of the reader. 

Though this book is specially dedicated to the Re¬ 
ligious of Carmel, I believe it may prove useful to all 
kinds of persons. I dedicated it in spirit to our young 
Religious Brothers and Sisters. I have thought often 
of them while writing it at the foot of the Crucifix. 
These pages belong especially to them, because they 
have been inspired by their holy prayers and enthusi¬ 
asm, and I have written them with the consoling hope 
and even with the encouraging assurety that on read¬ 
ing them some of these young hearts, so full of life 
and hope, will feel renewed in spirit, and by loving 
more and mor,e our Lord Jesus Christ, will be more 
useful to themselves as well as to the Order of our 
Lady. That such may be the case is the sole ambition 
of the author. 

Washington, D. C., Feast of St. Peter Thomas. 

January 18, 1920. 


CHAPTER I 

Children of Illustrious Parents 

1. IN THE NAME OF JESUS—2. CHILDREN OF ILLUS¬ 
TRIOUS PARENTS—3. JUDGE OF ONESELF—4. SPE- 
. CIAL OBLIGATIONS—5. ORDER OF OUR LADY—6. 
ESTEEM OF ONE’S PROFESSION—7. ST. JOHN OF 
THE CROSS OUR SPECIAL MASTER—8. FIVE MIN¬ 
UTES OF EXAMINATION—9. NEARLY ALWAYS AT 
THE TOP—10. BEGINNERS ARE NOT FORGOTTEN. 

1. We read in the Acts of the Apostles that St. 
Paul wrought great miracles merely by invoking 
the holy Name of Jesus on the sick. Therefore 
many Jews admired those wonders and tried to 
cure the possessed by exorcizing the evil spirits 
in the name of the Lord Jesus saying, I conjure 
you by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth . The most 
distinguished among all those who pretended 
‘to avail themselves of the name of Jesus and of 
the authority of St. Paul to cure the sick, were 
the seven sons of the High Priest Esceva. They 
were then exorcizing a poor man who was pos¬ 
sessed by the devil; but the evil spirit answering 
said to them: Jesus I know, and Paid I know, but 
who are you? And the man in whom the wicked 
spirit was, leaping upon them, and mastering 
them both, prevailed against them, so that they 
fled out of that house naked and wounded . (1) 

(1) Acts XIX. 13-16. 

9 


10 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


Our Father St. John of the Cross makes the 
following short commentary on the aforesaid bib¬ 
lical passage: This happened because they, the 
sons of Esceva, did not possess the required condi¬ 
tions; for the Lord is offended with those who 
teaching others the law of God, do not themselves 
keep it, and preaching to others the good spirit, 
they themselves have it not; therefore says St. 
Paul —Eom. xii, 21: “Thou therefore that teachest 
another, teachest not thyself.” And the Holy 
Ghost says through David: “But to the sinner 
God hath said; Why dost thou declare my jus¬ 
tice, and take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing 
thou hast hated discipline; and hast cast my 
words behind thee? —Ps. lxix. 16, 17. It is 
therefore very reprehensible and perilous to 
assume to oneself the authority of a person 
without at the same time making the greatest 
efforts to assimilate his spirit. 

2. We, the Carmelites, have very many and 
great external titles in which we may justly glory. 
We belong to a celebrated Order whose saints, 
our Founders and Reformers, are matchless, 
whose glories are most excellent, and whose 
graces can be counted by no one. Our dignity and 
even our own salvation demand of us great and 
continuous efforts that the spirit of each of us be 
conformable and in harmony with our great ex¬ 
ternal titles. It would certainly be disgraceful if 
what was said of the wretched sons of Esceva 
could in truth and justice be said of us: We know 


THE ORDER OF CARMEL 


11 


the Gospel you proclaim and the Order to ivhich 
you belong; we respect the habit you wear, and 
we venerate the great saints whose sons you 
esteem it a great hcmor to call yourselves. But 
apart from the habit you wear, and the Order that 
gave you your name, and the saints of whom you 
consider yourselves sons and successors and fol¬ 
lowers, we can not recognize you, we do not know 
who you are, we do not recognize your authority 
to speak to us in the name of those saints whom 
you do not imitate. 

It would not be the worst evil that men should 
speak thus to us; nor could it be any com¬ 
fort that sometimes their judgment of us is favor¬ 
able ; for after all, it is not so very difficult to attain 
this at least temporarily. The name and the 
habit are still highly esteemed by men who ordi¬ 
narily do not and can not penetrate very much 
below the surface. Their opinion about us will be 
according to what appears in us, and by the ap¬ 
pearance and their impression they will judge 
us, and by judging us they will esteem or hate 
or despise us. But of themselves, appearance 
and habit and profession are worth little before 
God. His glance, infinitely quick and knowing, 
does not rest like the human gaze on our outward 
appearance, but penetrates into the innermost 
recesses of our soul. It reaches down to that 
mysterious interior man from whom we so often 
wish we could slip away, without however being 
able to separate ourselves wholly; for that interior 


12 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


man is our own self, is our own consciousness, 
the source and confidant of the motives of all our 
actions; it can tell us our true spiritual condition, 
and this it certainly does whenever we listen in 
all sincerity to its voice. 

Since God will condemn nobody, whose con¬ 
science has not admonished him that he was in the 
wrong; and since nobody who has come to the use 
of reason will be rewarded for good works of 
which his conscience has not approved; it follows 
that in truth and before God each one is spirit¬ 
ually only that what his conscience or the intimate 
voice of the interior man sincerely listened to, 
tells him he is. To know therefore what I am, 
and what is my spiritual condition, I must not 
attend to what others think or say about me, nor 
what my habit and my profession make me appear 
to be; but above all, I must attend to the dictates of 
my conscience. An austere habit, the name of a 
venerable order, the spiritual affiliation with cele¬ 
brated saints, may possess great value as induce¬ 
ments to virtue, and may and generally do bring 
a certain right to special blessings of God and to 
a marked protection of the saints; nevertheless 
it is our own conscience which finally decides what 
we really are or are not. 

3. Certainly much more is demanded from us 
religious than from those who live in the world. 
It is the people who do not practise virtue who 
are generally the most exacting with us who make 
profession of leading virtuous lives. Our holy 


THE ORDER OF CARMEL 


13 


Mother warns us of this in the following nota¬ 
ble passage; speaking of persons favored by 
God, the great saint says: “Thousand eyes are 
watching that soul, while thousands of souls of 
another order are observed by none. ... A soul 
which God permits to be thus seen by men may 
well prepare itself to be a martyr to the world; 
because if it will not die to the world voluntarily, 
that very world will kill it. Certainly 1 see noth¬ 
ing in the world that seems to me good except this, 
that it tolerates no faults in good people and helps 
them to perfection by dint of the complaints it 
makes of them. I mean, that it requires greater 
courage in one not yet perfect to walk in the way 
of perfection than to undergo an instantaneous 
martyrdom. For perfection is not attained at 
once unless God grants that grace by some special 
privilege; yet the world, when it sees any one be¬ 
ginning to travel on that road, insists on his be¬ 
coming perfect at once, and at a thousand leagues’ 
distance it will detect in him a fault ivhich after 
all may be a virtue. He who finds fault is doing 
the very same thing, and yet pronounces it so 
wrong in others. (2) We Carmelites rightly glory 
in the habit we wear, and in our spirtual relation¬ 
ship with those great saints of whom we are called 
sons and successors. But conscience will tell each 
one of us what is our true spiritual condition in 
the religious state we have embraced. 


(2) Life Chapt. XXXI. 


14 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


4. It is not enough that my conscience does 
not reproach me as a man or a simple Christian, 
because God will judge me as a member of the 
Religious Order to which He called me and in 
which I vowed to serve Him. What would be 
enough for a simple Christian will not be enough 
for me a religious. And what would be excellent 
for a member of another religious order, may not 
be perfect for me who must aim at perfection 
according to the spirit of the Order which I em¬ 
braced. It is true that perfection or sanctity con¬ 
sidered in itself is always the same, just as the 
end of the same sanctity is one and the same; one 
Master showed the way to obtain it, and one and 
the same vitality nourishes and vivifies it. Jesus, 
the divine authority, pointed to God Himself as 
the sublime model of human perfection. Be ye 
therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is per¬ 
fect. He also told us that in the house of His 
Father there are many mansions. And to those 
many mansions or degrees of the elect in heaven 
correspond the different degrees and even kinds 
of perfection to which each one must attain 
here below by fidelity to his particular and 
personal vocation, and to which are attached spe¬ 
cial graces of God, without which the greatest 
efforts of our will can avail little or nothing. 

5. God calls us to be saints as St. Paul tells us; 
but He wants each of us to be holy in accordance 
with the spirit of our state and of the Order we 
have chosen. God in His divine economy enriched 


THE ORDER OP CARMEL 


15 


with special gifts the founders or reformers of 
each Order since they were destined by Him to 
guide many others, and therefore they are the 
most perfect model for the members of that par¬ 
ticular Order. All address their children with the 
words of St. Paul to the Philippians: Be ye fol¬ 
lowers of me, brethren, and observe them who 
walk so as you have our model. (3) Therefore 
our holy Mother St. Teresa used to say: Let us 
remember our true founders, those holy fathers 
from whom we are sprung, for we know it was by 
the way of poverty and humility that they at¬ 
tained to the vision of God ... if we say, as we 
do, that these are the beginning of a restoration 
of the rules of the Virgin Mother, our Lady and 
Patroness, let us not commit so great a wrong 
against her or against^our holy fathers who have 
gone before us, as to fail to render our lives con¬ 
sistent with theirs. And in another place she 
adds: If any one thinks the rule hard, let her 
attribute the fault to her want of the true spirit 
and not to the rule of the house, seeing that deli¬ 
cate persons and those not in good health can bear 
it all with so much sweetness. Let others go to an¬ 
other monastery, where they may save their souls 
in the way of their own spirit. (4) 

This idea was firmly established in the mind 
and heart of the saint that by reforming her Order 

(3) Philip III. 17. 

(4) Life Chapt. 36. 


16 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


she honored in a very special manner the Sov¬ 
ereign Queen of Heaven; therefore while writing 
of the first convent of the reform, that of St. Jo¬ 
seph of Avila, she said: Our Lord grant that all 
may he to the praise and glory of Himself and 
the Virgin Mary, whose habit we wear, Amen. 
And in another place: I saw Christ who, it 
seemed to me, received me with great affection, 
placed a crown on my head, and thanked me for 
what I have done for His Mother. And again: 
When all of us remained in choir in prayer after 
Compline, I saw our Lady in exceeding glory in a 
white mantle with which she seemed to cover us 
all. (5) And as if this were not enough, the Lord 
deigned to show her the great reward she had 
merited for having worked so much in the refor¬ 
mation of Blessed Mary’s Order, for appearing 
Himself He addressed to her these consoling 
words: Exert thyself, for thou seest how I help 
thee: 1 wished thou shouldst gain this crown. 
Thou wilt see in thy own days the Order of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary much advanced. (6) There¬ 
fore all the members of the Order of Carmel be¬ 
long to the Order of the Blessed Virgin, and as 
children of the Blessed Virgin we must live. 

6. The honor and even the safety of each re¬ 
ligious consist mainly in a constant striving to 
bring their feelings and actions into harmony with 

(5) Life Chapt. 36. 

(6) Relat. 14. 


THE ORDER OF CARMEL 17 

the spirit and teachings of the saint, to whose in¬ 
stitute they have voluntarily consecrated them¬ 
selves. It is a sure sign that one is in danger of 
losing his vocation, if he has not already lost it, 
when he feels little affection and not much appre¬ 
ciation of the teachings of those saints, whom he 
chose as the masters and models of his spiritual 
life when he entered the Order they founded or 
reformed. Let him tremble with salutary fear, 
who in the hours of spiritual recollection, of peace, 
and of quiet of mind finds out that he has not yet 
acquired the spirit of those whom he calls his 
Fathers, nor that he habitually exerts himself to 
obtain their spirit. There is nothing in the re¬ 
ligious life so useful as the questions each one 
puts to his own conscience regarding his actual 
spiritual condition. He ought to interrogate his 
conscience frequently and especially when his 
spirit is in peace; otherwise the noise of his envir¬ 
onment or his own fretting will prevent him from 
listening to its dictates. 

Let us attend then to what our Mother St. Teresa 
says, when speaking of those words of the 
OUR FATHER, Thy will be done, etc.: To take 
care of giving good example to others , that it is 
not with words alone he must fulfill what he has 
vowed and promised , but it is the will of God he 
should keep his vows; that by giving scandal , he 
violates them though he may not entirely break 
them; that he has promised poverty and that he 


18 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


ought to "keep it without heating about the hush; 
this is what the Lord asked. (7) 

7. We Carmelites have for the model of our 
lives not only the most excellent mistress of the 
spiritual life, St. Teresa of Jesus, hut also that in¬ 
comparable mystical writer, the eloquent eulogist 
of God’s love for souls, the keen and profound in¬ 
vestigator of the most secret recesses of the 
human spirit, St. John of the Cross. From the 
summit of his symbolical Carmel this great psy¬ 
chologist and master of mystics, teaches and 
guides all those who aspire to the highest perfec¬ 
tion, but he teaches and guides us specially who 
are honored with this habit and profession. 
Though this likeness of our habit and this nominal 
affiliation with the greatest and divinely inspired 
master of the spirit can honor us very much in 
the eyes of the world, it can never be a title for 
true glory if conscience truthfully accuses us, 
that in spirit we are as far removed from him and 
as unlike to him, as are those who lay no claims 
to either relationship of profession or of spiritual 
affiliation. It is a great truth that the habit alone 
neither sanctifies nor saves, but simply binds. 
The habit of Carmel honors a person highly, but 
at the same time it imposes serious obligations 
upon him. I do not believe there is a single Car¬ 
melite who does not appreciate as his highest dis¬ 
tinction the right of calling St. John of the Cross 


(7) Way of Perfect. XXX. 


THE ORDER OF CARMEL 


19 


his Father and Master. No son or daughter of 
Carmel could live a single moment in peace if his 
conscience could accuse him of having degener¬ 
ated ; not one could hear the strain of the doubt, as 
to whether our holy Founders can apply to us 
those terrible words of St. John: Though they 
were among us, for they went out from us, hut 
they were not ours. (8) 

8. I believe sincerely that the best spent mo¬ 
ments of our lives are those in which we compare 
our present spiritual condition with the spirit and 
teaching of our holy Father St. John of the Cross. 
We would quickly become saints if we examined 
ourselves daily for five minutes on the following 
points: “Am I a true Carmelite? Do I strive to 
live in private and in public according to the evan¬ 
gelical perfection and the peculiar spirit of our 
holy reformer, St. John of the Cross? If I had 
to appear now before God to give an account of 
my past life and vocation, could I have the cour¬ 
age to ask our holy Father to help me in return 
for my fidelity in trying to imitate his virtues and 
following faithfully his teaching? ... No doubt 
this question would cause some uneasiness, but it 
would be a salutary uneasiness. It is better to 
suffer some hardship now than to lead a life of 
deception and pretense. It would be a great dis¬ 
appointment to have labored over what we fancied 
to be good, only to find that we have been mis- 


(8) St. John. XI. 11-19. 


20 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


taken, that we have lost precious time, that we 
have increased our responsibility by following our 
caprices and not acting according to the will of 
God. 

Our holy Father says to us in one of his salu¬ 
tary counsels: What does it avail to give to God 
one thing, when He wants another from you? Con¬ 
sider what God wants you to do, and do it, for you 
will satisfy your heart better in this way than by 
doing that to which you are inclined. (9) Cer¬ 
tainly we are not obliged to be saints, because this 
is an extraordinary grace given by God to whom 
He is pleased; but religious profession imposes 
on us as a very sacred obligation, as the chief aim 
of our life, the duty of making constant efforts to 
attain perfection or sanctity. It is evident that 
this effort should be directed not according to our 
whims and inclinations, but according to the spirit 
of our vocation. This spirit we must find in the 
teaching and lives of our holy reformers. 

9. Our holy Father is the master given us by 
God to teach us the spirit of our vocation. From 
the heights of his mystical Carmel he shows us 
the paths by which we have to climb to the sum¬ 
mit of perfection. God says of him to each one 
of us, what he said to Moses about the Tabernacle: 
Look and make it according to the pattern shewn 
to thee in the mount. (10) But our holy Father 
nearly always speaks from the highest summits of 

(9) Max. 69. 

(10) Exodus XXV. 10. 


THE ORDER OF CARMEL 


21 


Carmel where his sight is lost, even for us who 
promised to follow him. Almost all his books are 
intended for souls who have already reached, or 
who are very near to intimate and supernatural 
union with God. It seems as if the Lord were 
impatient to communicate Himself to certain 
privileged souls; He does not wish to wait until 
the next life to disclose to them the infinite treas¬ 
ures of light and love which He has reserved for 
His elect. These souls enjoy such ineffable com¬ 
munications with the divine Goodness and are 
wont to immerse themselves in such a sea of light, 
that in some way they begin to taste here on earth 
the joys of the eternal beatitude. Ordinary souls 
cannot even suspect that such intimacy exists in 
this life between the Creator and His creature; 
and there are very few who reach to this high state 
of contemplation. 

There is nobody who can surpass or even equal 
our Father St. John of the Cross in the explana¬ 
tion of these profound mysteries; he is par excel¬ 
lence the Mystic Doctor, the unmatched herald 
and preacher of God’s love for men and man’s 
love of God. To prepare souls for this divine union 
and guide them in its path, is the main purpose of 
all his writings ; and therefore in accordance with 
this end, his conceptions and even his style are so 
sublime, that although his works are charming 
for lofty spirits, ordinary persons are discouraged 
and abandon his teaching. 


22 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


10. But this discouragement and withdrawal 
from our Holy Father on account of his sublime 
doctrine, is unjust and perilous to souls. It 
would be really dangerous if any child of Carmel, 
persuaded that God did not call him to the state 
of contemplation, would forsake the teaching of 
our holy Father and try to find elsewhere the 
model of his religious profession. For though it 
may be true that many Carmelites will never as¬ 
cend to the summit of contemplation, which after 
all is not necessary in order to he very virtuous 
or even a great saint, and the Lord gives it and 
takes it from whomsoever and whenever He 
wishes; it is also true, that none of us can con¬ 
sider himself free from the sacred obligation of 
studying and putting into practice that solid, aus¬ 
tere, and vigorous Carmelite asceticism which was 
characteristic of our Holy Father, and which has 
given so many saintly souls to heaven and so 
many sincere friends to humanity. Our holy 
Father is not only a great mystic Doctor, but also 
a perfect master of an admirable asceticism. It is 
true he dwells generally on the mystic heights of 
Carmel, where none can follow him but the souls 
who can fly like royal eagles; but he does not for¬ 
get the weaklings, who in the matter of religious 
perfection, are still on the hillocks of the mystic 
mountain. The saint, in a very original and laconic 
manner, tells us also all that we need to know and 
practise to be very good and true Carmelite saints. 

A renowned master and most original in asceti- 


THE ORDER OF CARMEL 


23 


cism no less than in mysticism, is our Father St. 
John of the Cross. His little book the 44 Caute- 
las”—Precautions—enchant some as much as his 
famous works, the 44 Ascent of Mount Carmel,” 
the 44 Dark Night,” and the 44 Spiritual Canticle.” 
Let the great genius and mystic revel at his pleas¬ 
ure in these sublime books; some of us who are on 
the first hillocks of this spiritual mountain can but 
look up with noble and holy emulation to those who 
have arrived at its highest tops, while we enter¬ 
tain ourselves with the study and meditation of 
these few pages of our holy Father. These are the 
first plants and flowers which are found in the 
very entrance to this mystical mountain in this de¬ 
lightful garden of the soul. To study them, to in¬ 
hale more fully their vivifying fragrance, to assim¬ 
ilate them better, and to help others as far as we 
can, is the sole end we propose to ourselves in 
writing this Commentary. As it is a noble and 
very useful occupation, it is enough to assimilate 
well the teaching of these few pages to become a 
perfect religious and to attain unto holy peace. 

This little book which in the large edition of 
the works of the saint covers scarcely six pages, 
contains all that a soul consecrated to God in a 
religious order needs to know and to practise to 
reach the highest perfection. Whoever will prac¬ 
tise these 44 Cautelas”—Precautions—will be a 
true child of St. John of the Cross. If any one de¬ 
spises the doctrine contained in these pages or 
makes little effort to put it into practice, I do not 


24 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


know how he can be called a Carmelite, because 
it contains the true spirit of Carmel, as we shall 
see clearly when we have studied it more care¬ 
fully. 


CHAPTER II 


St. John of the Cross and the Precautions 

1. PREFACE BY THE SAINT.—2. ABRIDGEMENT OF 
PERFECTION.—3. THE WORLD AND ITS PRINCIPAL 
INDUCEMENTS. THREE COUNSELS CONCERNING 
THEM.—4. THE DEVIL AND HIS THREEFOLD TEMP¬ 
TATIONS AGAINST GOOD PERSONS.—5. THREE 
COUNSELS IN REGARD TO THESE.—6. OUR OWN 
NATURE AND ITS BAD INCLINATIONS.—7. LAST 
THREE “CAUTELAS.”—8. MOST SUBLIME PERFEC¬ 
TION ACCESSIBLE TO ALL. 

1. The most sublime perfection which religious 
persons can acquire by faithfully observing the 
counsels or “Precautions” of our Father St. 
John of the Cross, the facility with which they 
can obtain it, the order they should observe, the 
intense joy and the complete safety in which they 
live who reach those heights of virtue, all are ex¬ 
plained by the Saint in his brief and admirable 
Preface to the “Cautelas” or “Precautions.’’ 
If any religious desires to attain in a short time 
to holy recollection, spiritual silence, detachment, 
and poverty of spirit, where peaceful rest of the 
spirit is enjoyed and union with God attained; 
if he desires to he delivered from all hindra/nces 
which created things put in his way, to he de¬ 
fended against all the wiles and illusions of Satan, 
and to he protected against himself, he must 
strictly practise the following instructions . 


25 


26 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


If he will do this with ordinary attention, with¬ 
out any other effort or 'practice, and at the same 
time carefully observe the obligations of his state 
he will advance rapidly to great perfection, 
acquire all virtue, and attain unto holy peace. All 
the evils to which the sold is subject proceed from 
the three enemies already mentioned; the world, 
the flesh, and the devil. If we can hide ourselves 
from these we shall have no combats to fight. The 
world is less difficult and the devil more diffi¬ 
cult to understand, but the flesh is the 
most obstinate of all and the last to be over¬ 
come together with the old man. If we do not 
conquer the three, we shall never perfectly con¬ 
quer one; and if we conquer one, we shall also con¬ 
quer the others in the same proportion. 

2. These * ‘ Cautelas ’ ’ or Precautions of the 
Mystic Doctor contain nine counsels which consti¬ 
tute a complete treatise of Christian and religious 
perfection. By them man is cautioned against the 
different enemies of his sanctification. No mir¬ 
acles, virtues, or penances are needed, because 
these counsels suffice not only for our salvation, 
but also for the attainment of the highest spiritual 
perfection. Whoever in spirit and truth keeps all 
and each of these precautions will surely be a 
great saint, for our holy Father says: He who 
observes these counsels with ordinary attention, 
without other efforts or other practices, and with¬ 
out failing in the obligations of his state, will 



THE PRECAUTIONS 


27 


advance rapidly to great perfection, acquire all 
virtues and attain unto holy peace. 

Before commencing the study of the nine pre¬ 
cautions in particular, we deem it advisable to con¬ 
sider them together, though briefly, that the 
reader may easily see their order and the connec¬ 
tion they have with each other as well as their 
direct opposition to the three enemies of the soul, 
against which they were written by our holy 
Father. We know from the catechism we learned 
during our early years that the world, the flesh, 
and the devil are the three great enemies of man. 
But these words are so much used by pious per¬ 
sons that through constant repetition they have 
lost their meaning; let us consider for a moment 
their possible relation to cur spiritual condition. 

Water washes and purifies, but the surface of 
the rocks over which it glides is not always pre¬ 
served pure and glossy, for substances that soil 
and disfigure are easily deposited there. In like 
manner words are the means which God has given 
us to purify and sanctify ourselves and to com¬ 
municate to one another light, truth, and love. 
But when we often repeat the same words, they 
pass through our ears and over our lips without 
leaving anything useful to our souls; on the con¬ 
trary they produce in us the bad habit of listening 
and speaking through routine, the great enemy of 
both spiritual discipline and perfection. For 
every hundred times we pronounce the words 
world, flesh, and devil, perhaps ninety-nine times 


28 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


we say them through routine, that is with¬ 
out paying attention to their true meaning. Let 
us see now what St. John of the Cross understands 
by these words and how he connects them with 
our weakest and most vulnerable traits. 

3. By the world he does not mean those 
persons or things which are openly had or con¬ 
trary to virtue, because the saint supposes and 
with much reason that souls consecrated to God 
are on the watch against all which is openly bad. 
Our holy Father understands by the world all 
those persons and things which, besides our own 
selves and the devil, against whom he gives us es¬ 
pecial instructions, can be an impediment to our 
spiritual perfection. And this happens when¬ 
ever such persons or tilings are the motive for 
beginning or developing in us, first some affec¬ 
tions towards particular persons which, without 
being actually sinful—for we are not speaking 
here of such things—are not completely in accord¬ 
ance with the adorable designs of God on these 
souls that are in a special manner consecrated to 
Him; second, some excessive desires for temporal 
goods; third, a certain restlessness or imprudent 
solicitude which induces us to interfere in affairs 
especially domestic ones, which are not entrusted 
to us. Hence these three precautions or counsels 
are directed against any disorderly affection to 
persons, against an excessive solicitude for tem¬ 
poral goods, and a restless attention to affairs 


THE PRECAUTIONS 


23 


not entrusted to us. The saint then summarizes 
as follows: 

First Precaution: Do not love one man more 
than another, for if you do you will fall into error, 
i because you do not know who is more worthy of 
love; but if you strive to forget all men alike, as 
holy recollection requires you to do, you will 
| escape every error whether great or small. Sec¬ 
ond Precaution: Do not be solicitous about what 
you eat or drink or wear, or about any created 
thing whatever. ... If you do this you will 
attain unto silence and have peace in your senses. 
Third Precaution: Be careful never to let your 
mind dwell upon, still less your tongue speak of, 
what is passing in the community or of any re¬ 
ligious in particular. Because if you give heed 
to what is going on, even if you lived among the 
i angels, many things would seem to you not to be 
good because you do not understand them. 

4. The devil is another actor against whom 
we must guard ourselves most carefully. Al¬ 
though he is extraneous to us, he can and does 
interfere much and with great subtlety in our 
affairs and intimate personal feelings. It is true, 
that unless we permit him he cannot have any 
power over us, for God created us free and our 
liberty is our own. No created being can force 
us against our will, but the evil spirit possesses 
tremendous power over us by his suggestions, 
and if we are not very watchful and prayerful, he 



30 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


can easily enter into the most secret recesses of 
our being and cause innumerable evils. 

The vitality of a religious order consists in 
the harmony with which the different members 
perfectly unite all their energy towards a deter¬ 
mined object; and the first condition for a re¬ 
ligious to advance in virtue is that he should know 
how to adapt himself perfectly to the character of 
his congregation, and that he should display all 
his activity and personal qualities, few or many, 
within the prescribed limits of his particular in¬ 
stitute. In this way his personality may not be 
very conspicuous; perhaps he may even be lost 
in the multitude; it may also never be known who 
had the principal share in the performance of a 
good work. In this manner the actions of the re¬ 
ligious will be less brilliant, they may not possess 
the fascination of singularity, but they will be 
more efficacious and also more useful for himself 
and for his congregation. 

We all carry in the depths of our soul a dose 
of pride, the effect of the vicious habits caused by 
the fall of our first parents. This pride, generally 
unnoticed by ourselves—and its acknowledgment 
is always so hard—induces us most powerfully to 
act singularly, and to mingle in the least possible 
degree our actions with those of the community. 
It impels us to singularity, which is one of the 
greatest enemies of personal perfection, as well 
as of the corporation to which the religious be¬ 
longs. The devil is familiar with this weak point 


THE PRECAUTIONS 


31 


in onr nature; therefore he exploits it to the det¬ 
riment of our virtue, he quickens the feelings of 
pride, and in a very cunning way that we do not 
suspect his diabolical influence, he foments a dan¬ 
gerous sensitiveness within us. In many details 
of religious life he suggests and even makes us 
believe: First, that by following our personal in¬ 
clinations and our particular tastes, we can do 
more good than by pursuing the common path of 
regular observance or that appointed by the 
superior; second, that the superior is not prudent 
in some of his arrangements; third, that he does 
not understand us, or that he is determined to 
humble us, or at least that there is some negli¬ 
gence in encouraging our legitimate hopes, or 
heeding our opinions which are very reasonable. 

5. Our holy Father advises us that it is very 
difficult to notice the diabolical interference in 
these susceptibilities of self-love, because they are 
so well concealed. Therefore to stop the evil 
spirit in the very beginning when he introduces 
himself so cunningly, the saint gives us three 
counsels or precautions. 

The fourth precaution and the first against the 
devil is: Never set about doing anything, how¬ 
ever good and charitable it may be, either for 
yourself or for anybody else, except under obe¬ 
dience, or that yau are bound to do it by the ride 
of your Order; because the actions of a religious 
are not his own hut those of obedience , and if he 
withdraws them from the ; control of obedience, he 


32 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


will have to give an account of them as lost. The 
fifth precaution and the second against the devil 
counsels as follows: Never look upon your 
superior, whoever he may he, otherwise than if 
you were looking upon God, because he stands in 
His place. ... 7 tell you that a great many re¬ 
ligious are ruined in the way of perfection for not 
looking upon their superiors as they ought . The 
sixth precaution and the third against the devil 
reads: Strive with all your heart after humility 
in thought, word, and deed, taking more pleasure 
in others than in yourself, wishing sincerely they 
may he preferred to you in all things. 

8. Besides the detriment which persons, things 
with their charms, and the devil with his tempta¬ 
tions can cause us, we must be watchful against 
ourselves, since we have many cravings and dis¬ 
likes that we must control and regulate. Our 
nature, so weakened by the sin of our first parents 
and more or less impoverished by personal trans¬ 
gressions in each one of us, requires continual 
study and watchfulness. We deny a patient, no 
matter how dear he may be to us, many things he 
most ardently longs for, because his caprices are 
dangerous to himself. We are all more or less 
morally sick, and therefore with more or less in¬ 
tensity and more or less unconsciously, we all suf¬ 
fer from certain hallucinations. These can be re¬ 
duced to two principal ones from which all the rest 
proceed. First: We pretend to make our poor per¬ 
son the center round which all the rest must move, 


THE PRECAUTIONS 


33 


especially those with whom we live more inti¬ 
mately. If this natural inclination is not pru¬ 
dently but energetically restrained, it will prove a 
most prolific source of faults and of innumerable 
grievances and sufferings. Without the habit of 
self-control man will be overcome, and perhaps 
unconsciously, on account of this evil inclination. 

With this selfishness in our spirit we naturally 
feel an aversion for all those about us who do not 
think, feel, and act as we do; our self-love would 
have them think, feel, and act differently. This 
aversion can have countless degrees. From that 
first almost imperceptible movement of a contra¬ 
diction from a dear friend to the violent out¬ 
burst of an intense hatred against a powerful 
enemy, there may be so many and such variegated 
aversions in the human heart, that it is impossible 
to classify them exactly or to reduce them to any 
number. 

7. Against this destructive hallucination, this 
enemy of our peace, of our heart, of charity, and 
of justice, our Father St. John of the Cross gives 
us admirable advice. He counsels us to consider 
the persons about us from the true and safe point 
of view and according to the intentions of 
Divine Providence. He says in his seventh precau¬ 
tion, which is the first against the flesh: You must 
understand that you are come to the monastery 
for no other purpose than to he exercised and pol¬ 
ished by every one . . . . There are officers who will 


34 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


polish you by thoughts, words, and deeds which 
are opposed to your inclinations . 

A second hallucination from which we suffer 
nearly always unconsciously, is to regard the pleas¬ 
ure we find in the execution of our actions as their 
rule and end. In this way we mistake the pleasure 
for the obligation. This is of course not our inten¬ 
tion, but practically this is the secret of a great 
number of our actions and of their omissions. 
We cannot deny that generally we execute punc¬ 
tually and diligently what is pleasing to us, 
whereas we are very slow in the fulfillment of a 
multitude of little obligations which displease us, 
and often we imagine ourselves dispensed from 
performing them at all. Against this inclination 
our holy Father gives his last two precautions 
which embody a most severe asceticism, and for the 
same reason the exact fulfillment of them without 
any other virtues and miracles would suffice to 
make us great saints. For the Saint says: Never 
omit any practices because they are disagreeable, 
neither observe them because they are pleasant, 
provided they are for the service of God . The spir¬ 
itual man must seek in his actions what is unpleas¬ 
ant and troublesome rather than what is sweet and 
agreeable; otherwise he ivill never destroy self- 
love nor acquire the love of God . 

8. What our holy Father intended with his 
famous “Cautelas” was to lead his sons and 
daughters to the highest perfection, and this in a 
simple and easy way. There is nothing here which 


THE PRECAUTIONS 


35 


is not within the reach of all, for the saint directs 
himself to the interior man; he wants, above all, 
the penance of the reason and the discipline of the 
spirit. Every one, whatever may be his tempera¬ 
ment, his education or his occupation, can keep 
these precautions, for there is no question here of 
rigorous penances, of great works, or of many 
prayers, of much reading, and long hours of medi¬ 
tation. The saint limits himself to regulating our 
affections and solicitudes towards persons and 
temporal goods which he calls by the generic term 
world, to guard us against the suggestions of the 
devil and against the most subtle insinuations of 
self-love which he calls the flesh. 

When these three enemies, the world, the flesh, 
and the devil, are conquered after this manner, the 
soul has no more enemies to fight, because she is 
raised so high that no creature can overtake her, 
and she begins even in this life to enjoy the con¬ 
solations of the Holy Ghost. It seems proper to 
reproduce in its entirety the text of each precau¬ 
tion before beginning with due reverence its com¬ 
mentary. 


CHAPTER III 


The First Precaution Against the World 
Our Neighbor 

1. WORDS OF THE SAINT —2. APPARENT HARSHNESS 
AND ERRONEOUS OPINIONS.— S 1 . SPIRITUAL EDU¬ 
CATION. MODEL OF A GOOD EDUCATOR.—4. HOW 
TO UNDERSTAND THE MIND OF A HOLY WRITER. 
—5. DEFECTS IN THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE 
SAINTS.—6. ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS AND HIS SO¬ 
CIAL MANNERS—7. HIS LETTERS.—8. HE SHOWED 
HIMSELF IN THEM AS HE WAS,—9. THE AUTHOR 
OF THE LETTERS DOES NOT SEEM TO BE THE 
SAME AS THE ONE OF THE “PRECAUTIONS.”—10. 
NEED OF AN EXPLANATION.—QUOTATION FROM 
ST. TERESA. 

1 . To escape perfectly from the evils which the 
world can inflict, you must observe three things: 
The first is, preserve an equal love and an equal 
forgetfulness of all men, whether relatives or not; 
withdraw your affections from the former as well 
as from the latter, and even more from the former 
on account of the ties of blood, for the natural af¬ 
fection which men feel for their kindred always 
subsists. This affection must be mortified if you 
want to acquire spiritual perfection. Consider all 
your kindred as strangers, and in this manner you 
will better discharge your duty to them, than by 
giving them the affection which you owe to God. 

Do not love one man more than another, for if 
you do, you will fall into error. He is Worthy of 
more love whom God loves more, and you do not 


36 


ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS 


37 


know who he is. But forget all of them alike—as 
holy recollection requires you to do—and you will 
free yourself from the error of loving them too 
much or too little. Do not think about them, good 
or evil. Avoid them as much as you can. If you 
do not observe this, you will never become relig¬ 
ious, nor will you ever attain to holy recollection , 
nor free yourself from your imperfections: If 
you take any liberties here, Satan will in some way 
or other deceive you or you will deceive yourself 
under the pretence of good or evil. You unit be 
safe in following this direction, for in no other 
way you can free yourself from the imperfections 
and escape the hindrances which your soul encoun¬ 
ters in its intercourse with creatures. 

2. The teaching contained in this precaution 
against the world will doubtless seem very 
severe to many persons. 

Detach your heart from your relatives and from 
those who are not; but still more from your rela¬ 
tives. . . . Regard them all as strangers. Do not 
love one person more than another. Forget all of 
them alike. Do not think about them, either good 
or evil, and if you do not observe this, you will 
never become true religious. 

These words taken literally and without any 
explanations may cause certain tender souls 
who hear them, to experience a sensation 
of coldness which will perhaps deprive them 
of every sympathy for the holy Doctor of 
Carmel and lead them to discontinue the read- 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


ing of his books. We believe this and similar 
passages have deprived our holy Father of many 
friends. A religious, highly esteemed and ven¬ 
erated, was asked once how this passage of the 
saint should be understood. The good religious 
answered sincerely: “I do not understand it well. 
I have been asked very often about it by respect¬ 
able persons and I did not know how to answer 
them. To my way of thinking, our holy Father 
wrote these precautions for the novices only, for 
apart from the novitiate and the college, I cannot 
see how they could be observed faithfully.” 

Behold what may be considered a lamentable 
error. Though it is certain that our holy Father 
wrote these famous “Cautelas” exclusively for 
the novices , we can not admit that the great re¬ 
former and educator would give the young re¬ 
ligious entrusted to him instructions of a tempo¬ 
rary character, instructions they could not take 
for their rule of life, not only during the time 
of their religious formation, but for all the remain¬ 
der of their lives. These precautions do not con¬ 
tain merely disciplinary dispositions which 
vary indefinitely according to circumstances to 
which the religious has to adapt himself like 
everybody else. 

3. These instructions, as is clear by simply 
perusing them, tend to the formation of the in¬ 
terior man, to the formation of the conscience of a 
religious. This interior formation which consti¬ 
tutes the true character, the true moral personal- 


ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS 


39 


ity of man, must be the same in all conditions and 
circumstances of human life. Every man must ac¬ 
commodate himself to the various circumstances 
he encounters, and to the different characters with 
whom he has to deal and live; but never without 
lowering himself can he renounce his moral per¬ 
sonality. The religious can be the most com¬ 
plaisant of men, he can adapt himself to every¬ 
body and to everything. This was the motto of 
St. Paul, to know how to live with all in order to 
gain all: I became all things to all men, that I 
may save all . (1) But our adjustment to all 
things and to all men does not dispense with the 
obligation of appearing and being true religious. 
This would be to fail in the most fundamental 
duty of a religious, which is to conduct himself 
always in such a way that all may respect him, his 
profession, and his order. 

The object of the true educator is to form in his 
disciples this interior man, who is always con¬ 
scious of his actions, this moral personality, so flex¬ 
ible that without any violence it can accommodate 
itself to all things, and yet so strong that no person 
or thing can weaken it. St. John of the Cross, who 
was providentially destined for the reformation of 
this ancient and venerated Order, as well as for 
the education of its first members, was a man of 
great practical talent and holiness and endowed 
with the gifts of a perfect educator. There is no 


(1) T. Cor. XT. 22. 


40 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


doubt that Divine Providence enriched him with 
all the conditions necessary to form the hearts of 
those who were so fortunate as to be his disciples. 
The saint educated them, not precisely for the time 
of their novitiate—for this he left most wise dis¬ 
ciplinary rules, adaptable to time and circum¬ 
stances—but for their whole religious life and 
which they in their turn were to transmit to others. 
Ldnd therefore, even allowing that these precau¬ 
tions were written for the first novices of the Re¬ 
form, we can never admit that he instilled into 
their tender hearts a doctrine useful only during 
their novitiate. Neither can we believe that the 
teaching of our holy Father to his children is so 
hard as the literal sense of the above passages 
seems to indicate. 

4. We can not judge of the mind of a writer 
from a few passages of his works, no matter how 
decisive they may seem to be. It is above all 
necessary to attend to the prevailing ideas of his 
writings. If the writer is a saint and treats of 
spiritual matters, it is proper to consider his 
actions, since the saints are the most consistent 
men in the world; and therefore their conduct is 
the most perfect reflection of their mind on all 
practical questions. Consequently, if we can dem¬ 
onstrate that our holy Father did not forget the 
persons with whom he had to deal, but on the con¬ 
trary was always most solicitous to procure what¬ 
ever could be of service to them; nor that he was 
cold and indifferent, but very affectionate to- 


ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS 


41 


wards them; we can conclude that it is not abso¬ 
lute forgetfulness, nor indifference, nor disregard 
for every one that he wished his first novices of 
the Reform to take as the standard of their lives, 
and to transmit to future generations as the gen¬ 
uine expression of the spirit of our first Father. 

5. It is true that the biographies of the saint 
still extant, or at least those that were at our dis¬ 
posal, do not express the real moral physiognomy 
of our Father St. John of the Cross; they have 
the common defect of almost all biographies. It 
is difficult to understand why the writers, espe¬ 
cially of certain epochs, have a mania for present¬ 
ing the great masters of religion so far removed 
from real, human, and practical life, the life which 
is common to saints and to us. They narrate with 
all detail the extraordinary and miraculous 
actions of the saints, but they do not tell us how 
they executed their simple, every day actions, and 
it is precisely by these practices that they were 
sanctified. They do not show us their intimate 
personality; they do not allow us to see their 
mind and their heart which were the real com¬ 
pelling forces of their conduct and which gave all 
the value to their actions, to the most stupendous 
as well as to the most simple and common actions 
of the saints. 

When we read such lives, we learn the many 
wonderful things they accomplished, but not what 
they were. With such narrations we can not know 
those great characters, which were at the same 


42 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


time so sublime and so simple, so nearly divine 
and yet so human, because energetic personal ex¬ 
ertion and the divine grace—which destroys noth¬ 
ing but rather embellishes and sanctifies all that 
it touches—purified them from all the ugliness 
and disorder caused by sin. We can not then 
learn from the biographies what was the heart of 
our holy Father. We can not really know if he 
was cold and indifferent towards the persons with 
whom he had connections, and whether he con¬ 
sidered them all as strangers and kept himself in 
perfect forgetfulness, as his advice in the first 
precaution seems to indicate. 

6. Fortunately St. John of the Cross, though a 
great lover of solitude, was not a hermit who 
could pass his life without any human intercourse, 
and who could live like the stars of the firmament 
or the wild beasts of the woods without the com¬ 
pany of created beings. St. John of the Cross 
as the reformer of a religious order, as the 
founder of a great number of convents both for 
friars and nuns, during many years a prelate and 
the director of numerous souls, could but allow 
us—though against his own will—a glimpse of his 
noble soul. And there we certainly behold him 
very sensible, solicitous, affectionate and paternal 
towards those persons who had the good fortune 
to be in any way connected with the holy Car¬ 
melite. 

7. The private and confidential letters of a 
writer reflect his soul better than all his other 
works put together. When we believe ourselves 


ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS 


43 


removed from the suspicious looks of strangers 
and even from the sight of the person with whom 
we speak, we deem ourselves dispensed from cer¬ 
tain circumspections which we use in public and 
even in familiar conversations. But in our pri¬ 
vate and intimate correspondence we manifest 
ourselves as we are; we place our whole soul into 
intimate contact with the soul of our friend. It 
is this that renders the epistolary correspondence 
of the saints so instructive, interesting, and 
charming. The correspondence of our saint was 
necessarily very extensive; for, as we have said, 
he had to deal with so many persons. But unfor¬ 
tunately nearly all these literary and doctrinal 
relics perished in the fierce tempest that was 
raised against him. However, Divine Providence 
did not permit that all should perish; some entire 
letters and fragments of others were saved and 
collected with religious piety by his children. 
These provide us the means of contemplating at 
present the grandeur of the saints heart and also 
of understanding the true sense of some passages 
in his writings. 

8. Let us see if the correspondence of St. John 
belongs to the commercial type, that is, does he 
limit himself strictly to the motive or the business 
of the correspondence, showing himself entirely 
forgetful and indifferent to all other matters and 
to the person himself? According to the literal 
sense of his first precaution this should be the 
case, but the reader may be sure that the saint 


44 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


acted differently. In a letter to a nun he laments 
bitterly, though with resignation, that since they 
imprisoned him he had not seen his great Mother 
Teresa of Jesus, nor his brethren in religion; 
these are his own words: Jesus be in your soul, 
my daughter! Though 1 do not know where you 
are, 1 wish to write to you these lines, trusting 
that our Mother will forward them to you, if you 
are not with her. And if it is so that you are not 
with her, then console yourself with me who are 
more exiled and lonely than you. For since I was 
swallowed by that ivhale and cast forth upon this 
distant shore, I have not been worthy of seeing 
her nor the saints who are down there. God has 
done it for our good; for loneliness is a file, and 
to suffer darkness is the way to great light. (2) 

It is a great pity that his letters to St. Teresa, 
his great Mother, at the same time his teacher and 
disciple, are lost. But from what he says in this 
letter we can infer what we all hold for certain, 
namely, that the author of the precautions enter¬ 
tained for St. Teresa a little more affection and 
even filial tenderness than he generally did for all 
the rest. We can not believe him indifferent in 
his affection to this great saint. 

To a pious lady he wrote as follows: All your 
letters have been received. I have shared in all 
your grief, trials, and desolations, which are call¬ 
ing on me with so many voices that my pen cannot 


(2) Let. to Mother Cath. of Jesus. 


ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS 


45 


express them all. All are rapping and knocking 
at my soul for more love, which will cause more 
prayers and spiritual sighs to ascend to God that 
He may grant what my soul is asking. He re¬ 
quests the same lady to write to him more fre¬ 
quently, and he tells her that her letters should 
not be so short. To the same person: Thanks be 
to God, Who has given me the grace not to forget 
the poor as you tell me; it would pain me much 
to think that you believe what you say. It would 
be bad enough after so many marks of kindness. 
This only was wanting to me now to forget you; 
but lioiv is this possible since you are present to 
my soul? (3) 

9. Does it seem as if these passages were writ¬ 
ten by another than the author of the first precau¬ 
tion against the world? Nevertheless the writer 
is one and the same, and the spirit that animates 
them is one and the same. It is very certain that 
our holy Father never contradicted his teaching 
by his conduct, nor pretended to teach his-chil¬ 
dren what he himself did not practice. But in 
this great lover of the cross one finds his very 
sweetness always concealed in his profound spirit 
of abnegation. The following is a fragment of 
one of his admirable letters to the Sisters of Boas: 
Jesus, Mary be with your souls, my daughters in 
Christ. Your letter greatly consoled me, and may 
our Lord reward you for it. My delay in writing 


(3) Let. X. and XVII. to Dona Pedraza. 


46 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


has not been from want of good will, for truly, 1 
wish you all good, but because it seemed to me 
that enough has been said and written to effect 
all that is needful. . . . Never fail, no matter 
what befall you, be it good or evil, to keep your 
hearts calm in the tenderness of love, that you 
may suffer in all circumstances. Because perfec¬ 
tion is so momentous and so priceless is spiritual 
joy, may God grant that all these be enough; for 
it is impossible to malce any progress but by act¬ 
ing and suffering all in silence. I have expe¬ 
rienced, my daughters, that the soul which is 
ready to talk and converse with men, is not very 
ready to converse with God; for if it were, it 
would be at once drawn forcibly inwards, it woidd 
love silence and avoid all conversation; for God 
wants the soul to rejoice in Him rather than in 
any creature, however excellent and profitable it 
may be. I commend^ myself to your holy pray¬ 
ers, and be assured that, imperfect as my charity 
is, it is so bound up in you that I can never for¬ 
get you to whom I owe so much in the Lord. (4) 

10. In tlie next chapter we shall try to explain 
the genuine meaning of the first precaution 
against the world, for it is very sure that under 
the hard literal appearance which chills the soul, 
there is much sweetness and charity. But before 
proceeding to the commentary, let us glance at 
two of the most beautiful passages of our great 


Let. VII. Spanish Edition. 


ST. JOHN OP THE CROSS 


47 


Mother St. Teresa of Jesus, which illustrate this 
matter most clearly. 

When my brothers came—and to one of them I 
oive so much—I did not fail to stay with him and 
to treat with him of all that was conducive to his 
spiritual and temporal welfare. All caused me 
fatigue and pain; and as 1 was offering it to the 
Lord, and thinking I was obliged to do all this, 
there came to my mind that it is written in our 
Constitutions, that we must avoid our kindred. 1 
then asked myself if I was acting contrary to my 
obligations, and the Lord said to me: No daugh¬ 
ter, for your institutions will advance according 
to my law only. (5) 

According to this beautiful passage of St. Te¬ 
resa it is very clear that neither virtue nor the 
rule of the institute forbid affection to our kin¬ 
dred or to any other person. But it is necessary 
to avoid disorder in our affections and not the af¬ 
fection itself, because love of our neighbor is 
laudable and holy in itself. 

Here is the other passage of the saint: I was 
one day thinking whether it was a want of detach¬ 
ment in me that led me to take pleasure in the 
company of those who had the care of my soul, to 
have an affection for them, and to comfort myself 
with those whom I see to be very great servants 
of God. Our Lord said to me: It is not virtue in 
a sick man to abstain from thanking and loving 


(5) Relation XLVI. 


48 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


the physician ivho seems to restore him to health 
when he is in danger of death. What should I 
have done without these persons? The conversa¬ 
tion of good people was never hurtful; my words 
should always be weighed and holy . . . . This 
was a great comfort to me, because now and then 
1 wished to abstain from converse with all peo¬ 
ple; for it seemed to me that I was attached to 
them. (6) 

Let us see now how the doctrine of St. John of 
the Cross is to be understood, in order to regulate 
our own heart that in its affections it may not 
deviate from the right course. 

(6) Life Chapter LX. 


CHAPTER IV 


Continuation of the Same 

1. CREATION OF LIFE ACCORDING TO THE HOLY DOC¬ 
TOR OF CARMEL.—2. HE DISLIKES HEARTLESS 
MEN.—3. BROTHERLY LOVE THE SUPPORT AND 
PLEDGE OF THE LOVE OF GOD.—4. ST. JOHN OF 
THE CROSS A POET OF THE HEART.—5. BROAD 
HORIZON OF THE SPIRIT AND OF THE HEART.— 
6. TRIPLE CHARACTER OF THE LOVE OF THE 
SAINTS.—7. AUTO-PORTRAIT OF ST. JOHN OF THE 
CROSS.—8. POVERTY OF THE HUMAN HEART AND 
A POWERFUL RE-AGENT—9. UNIVERSAL LOVE 
AND MOST PRUDENT ADVICE. — 10 CHILDISH 
MEN AND THE CURATIVE SYSTEM OF ST. JOHN 
OF THE CROSS.—11. NO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN OF 
EXCESSIVE RIGOR.—12. COLDNESS OF THE HEART. 
—13. MORAL DISTINCTIONS. 

1. There is no doubt that St. John of the 
Cross, notwithstanding any impression the simple 
reading of the first precaution may make on us, 
did not condemn a pure and orderly affection for 
others. He himself loved most tenderly all who 
had the good fortune of knowing him. And so far 
was he from condemning this legitimate expan¬ 
sion of the heart, that it may well be said that the 
most tender love found in the austere penitent 
of Duruelo its best apostle and eulogist in mod¬ 
ern times. Nobody represented to his own mind 
and sang so delicately to all creation such a can- 


49 


50 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


tide as did St. John of the Cross. His poetic and 
saintly sonl considers all creatures as gifts con¬ 
ferred by the hand of God. And if he treats of 
them, it is that they should talk to him of love 
and help him to love more; it is to conjure them, 
saying to them all, to the flowers, the birds, the 
mountains, and the forests: 

If you shall see 
Him whom 1 love, 

Tell Him I languish, suffer and die, 

In search of my love. 

1 will go over mountains and strands. 

Nor have I any other employment. 

My sole occupation is love. 

According to the saint, life is of value only inso¬ 
far as it teaches, exercises, and purifies our love. 
This idea he deemed worthy of an entire book, 
the ‘ 6 Spiritual Canticle,’ ’ on which no commentary 
will be made, so as not to belittle it or to deprive 
the reader of the pleasure of musing and meditat¬ 
ing upon it: In the evening of life you will he 
examined as to your love. If he so highly recom¬ 
mends retirement from people, to use his own 
words: blessed recess of the heart, it is cer¬ 
tainly not in the sense of crushing and extin¬ 
guishing the emotions; on the contrary, when 
they are purified in silence and retirement, they 
glow more brightly in divine love. 

2. It is not frozen hearts nor cold souls that 
St. John of the Cross seeks; for him sweetness of 


OUR NEIGHBOR 


51 


spirit and tenderness of soul are effects of the 
love of God in us, whereas callousness he consid^ 
ers the fruit of pride: The loving soul, he says, 
is gentle, meek, humble, and patient. The soul 
hardened in self-love hardens itself still more. If 
Thou in Thy love, 0 good Jesus! dost not make the 
soul gentle, it will persist in its natural hard¬ 
ness. (1) If some contend that this and similar 
passages of the saint are to be understood only of 
the love of God, we answer in the well-known and 
vigorous words of Holy Scripture, which call the 
man who says he loves God without loving also his 
neighbor, a liar: If any man say, I love God, and 
hateth his brother; he is a liar. For he that lov- 
eth not his brother whom he seeth, how can he 
love God, whom he seeth notf And this command¬ 
ment we have from God, that he, who loveth God, 
love also his brother. (2) St. John of the Cross 
has in different parts of his works some very deci¬ 
sive passages on this matter, which would seem 
at first sight contrary to the precaution we are 
trying to explain: Who does not love his neigh¬ 
bor hates God. (3) 

3. So far is the saint from condemning affec¬ 
tion for others, provided it is pure and well-or¬ 
dered according to God, that as a learned theo¬ 
logian and a deep observer of the human heart, 
he wants our love of God to be founded on our 


(1) Max. 27-28. 

(2) I. St. John IV. 20, 21. 
Max. 9. 


52 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


love for the neighbor, and that these two loves, 
the divine and the human, should uphold each 
other and grow and fructify in perfect harmony. 
Here are the actual words of this great spiritual 
master, as well versed in the noble aspirations of 
the human heart as in its dangerous weaknesses. 
When the love and the affection we give to a crea¬ 
ture is purely spiritual and founded on God, divine 
love grows with it, and the more we remember the 
creature, so much the more we also remember 
God; the one grows apace with the other . (4) 

This teaching will certainly not frighten any sen¬ 
sible, tender, and pure heart. It is necessary, 
however, to attend to this other advice of the 
prudent master, so as not to misunderstand his 
doctrine. When the affection for a creature springs 
from sensual vice or from purely natural inclina¬ 
tion, in proportion to its increase, is the diminu¬ 
tion of the love of God and the forgetfulness of 
His presence; and from the recollection of the 
creature comes remorse of conscience. That which 
is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born 
of the spirit is spirit, says our Lord in His Gos¬ 
pel. And thus love, born of sensuality, ends m 
sensuality, and that which is born of the spirit 
ends in the spirit of God, and makes it grow. This 
is a sign by which we may distinguish between 
these two affections. (5) 

(4) Max. 184. 

(5) Max. 185-186. 


OUR NEIGHBOR 


53 


In confirmation of this teaching of our holy 
Father let us consider the following beautiful 
passage of our holy Mother St. Teresa: Ask the 
Lord for these two things only: love of His 
Majesty and love of the neighbor; for it can not 
be hnown definitely whether ive love God or not, 
although there are many signs to indicate that ive 
love Him; but the love for our neighbor is easily 
known . Be sure that as you advance in this, you 
will grow much more in the love of God . The love 
that His Majesty has for us is so great, that in 
reward for that which we have for our neighbor, 
He will in a thousand ivays cause our charity to 
Himself to grow; of this 1 can not doubt . (6) 

4. Our holy Father then is not an enemy of 
love. Because he is a saint, he is also the most 
vigorous defender and promoter of love. And 
because he is at the same time a great saint and a 
poet, he sings and extols it with canticles full of 
truth and harmony. The vehement desire of all 
his life, his providential and characteristic mis¬ 
sion, was not to restrain the noble and legitimate 
emotions of the human heart, but to raise souls to 
very high perfection and this in a safe and easy 
manner while uniting them most intimately with 
God. For this reason he wants to purify them, 
not only from sensual and sinful affections, but 
also from every affection and natural inclination 
which has not its proximate origin and its imine- 


(6) Fifth Mansion. 


54 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


diate end in God. But he does not wish to elevate 
them to this height to remain there in a stoic 
quietism, in dreamy forgetfulness of all things, 
living morally and intellectually as if they were 
so many mummies. 

!No, this is not the teaching of St. John of the 
Cross: it is just the reverse. He wants hearts 
thus purified that with greater innocence, with 
more liberty and energy, they may love not only 
God, hut also in God and for God all that is pure, 
just, and lovable like God. All our good works 
must have their origin in the highest love of God , 
if they are to he pure and innocent. And mare 
beautifully still, if possible, he says in another 
place: The soul that loves is neither wearied nor 
wearies> and He who knows how to die to all will 
find life in all. (7) 

5. The higher the eagle soars, the greater the 
freedom with which it flies, and the more piercing 
is its sight; the same happens to a spiritual per¬ 
son. When we love through interest or on ac¬ 
count of some special sympathy, the motive of 
our love is too low, narrow, and confined, and 
consequently the action of our heart is also low, 
poor, and narrow; the heart in such a person is 
easily contracted and there remains no strength 
for higher love. But when a man’s first and prin¬ 
cipal motive to love others, is the love of God, that 
is, when he puts aside all personal conditions and 


(7) Max. 123, 152. 


OUR NEIGHBOR 


55 


loves them affectionately because they are chil¬ 
dren of God, because God loves them and He 
commands us to love them as ourselves, the|n 
our spiritual vision is infinitely enlarged, our 
heart acquires great liberty, and with the liberty 
come strength and energy to love the entire 
human family. Therefore St. Teresa, speaking 
of a soul that has reached some degree of per¬ 
fection, says: The love of the world is removed 
from her; self-affection is converted into disaf¬ 
fection, and the love she had for her relatives is 
transformed into the love of God; while the love 
of her neighbors and of her enemies is greatly 
increased. (8) 

The nearer a man approaches to God by holi¬ 
ness of life, the more he is like to God; for, as 
our holy Father says in his inimitable style: 
The soul that endeavors to divest itself for the 
love of God of all that is not God , is soon yenA 
lightened and transformed into God , in such a 
way that it resembles God Himself, and seems to 
have all that God has. (9) 

As God loves the whole human family col¬ 
lectively, and as His provident and paternal love 
delights in each soul individually as if that soul 
alone constituted the whole of creation; so 
also do the true friends of God love. Their affec¬ 
tion is so universal that it embraces all man¬ 
kind, and so particular and even individ- 

(8) Conceptions of Div. Love Chapter VI. 

(9) Max. 158. 



56 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


ual that it seems to be entirely devoted to every 
one who has the good fortune to meet them on 
the road of life. 

6. Thus were the saints; they excluded no¬ 
body and loved everybody, but their love was 
not the same for all. They entertained a spe¬ 
cial affection for those who were dearer to God. 
However, their paternal and affectionate solici¬ 
tude was greater towards those who needed it 
more. And indeed nobody is in greater moral 
indigence than he who lives far removed from 
God. Hence the triple characteristic of the 
saints which is more evident in the greater 
saints, in those whose mission in the world was 
higher and more visible. A genuine, sincere, and 
efficacious love for all; a sweet predilection for 
the best; an affectionate and paternal solicitude 
for the indigent. This is the character which 
sweetly draws us to our Divine Redeemer and 
which He communicates to His best friends. Con¬ 
sequently the character of our holy Father, that 
most tender lover of Jesus Christ and His cross 
must contain and portray in a marked degree 
this triple form of love. It is this character and 
no other which he wanted to stamp on all his 
children, notwithstanding the apparent harshness 
of his precaution, in which he tells us to consider 
all as strangers and to have the same forgetful¬ 
ness towards all. 

With this rigor, more ideal than real, the 
saint purports to make us love more and better, 


OUR NEIGHBOR 


5T 

and that our charity be more solicitous and effica¬ 
cious. Here is a beautiful passage which illus¬ 
trates and confirms all this doctrine. Speaking 
of the benefits of not rejoicing in natural goods, 
hb says: For besides disposing itself for the 
love of God and the other virtues, it makes a way 
for personal humility and universal charity to¬ 
wards our neighbors . When our affections, free 
from the influence of natural goods, which are 
deceitful, rest upon no one, the soul is free to love 
all men reasonably and spiritually, as God wills 
them to be loved. No one deserves to be loved ex¬ 
cept for his goodness, and when we love in this 
way, our love is pleasing unto God and in great 
liberty, and if there be attachment in it there is 
great attachment to God. For then the more 
this love grows, the more also grows our love 
for God, and the deeper our love for Him the 
more we shall/ love our neighbor: for the prin¬ 
ciple of both is the same. (10) This is an auto¬ 
portrait of the saint, most austere in his doctrine 
and in all his life but most affectionate in h;is 
heart. 

He well knew how poor is the human heart, 
how narrow and individualistic and even exclu¬ 
sive are its affections. He knew that the prac¬ 
tice of virtue does not destroy, but rather en¬ 
livens, the natural sensitiveness of the heart. He 
was not ignorant of the fact that the religious, 


(10) Ascent III. Chapt. 22. 


58 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


whom as a skilful master he was now instructing 
in their duties of mutual intercourse, could later 
in their social relations and even in the exercise 
of their ministry, attach themselves to some 
hearts and entertain themselves with them to the 
detriment of the affection and solicitude they 
owed to other persons and to other affairs. 

8. In foreseeing and trying to prevent these 
evils the saint showed that he understood thor¬ 
oughly the poor human heart. He wishes that 
whenever we bestow our affection on any one we 
should disregard all those natural qualities in 
the persons which may seem to us worthy of af¬ 
fections. He requires of us that we pay atten¬ 
tion to only one fact—the love God has for 
them. It is the only thing that renders a man 
truly and efficaciously lovable to a soul really 
purified from the vicious habits of sensuality and 
selfishness. 

9. As this condition of loveliness is found in 
all men, for God loves all men, the affections which 
are well purified in their hearts will be universal; 
and if the motive of their love is general, their 
heart will enjoy great liberty, for it is not limited 
by any particular reason. But the love of God 
for men though so universal, admits of different 
degrees, for God loves some souls more than 
others; in the same manner the love of the saints 
for men excludes nobody, but is intensified on 
some persons in a most ineffable manner. 


OUR NEIGHBOR 


59 

It is in this way that St, John of the Crosis 
loved some persons, as his letters prove. The 
saint knew how difficult it is to do away with 
the affections founded on flesh and natural sym¬ 
pathy ; how much it costs to soar to those heights 
from which one can look on men as God sees and 
loves them; therefore he gave us such a bitter 
medicine: Consider all as strangers for you 
must not attend to your own interests nor to 
their personal qualities to regulate your affec¬ 
tion and your personal solicitude for them. For 
these reasons he bids us: Do not love one person 
more than another, because you do not know who 
is more worthy of love and who is loved more by 
God, and since you can not know this, do not 
think at all about them, and avoid them as much 
as you possibly can. 

Behold here a remedy against the natural de¬ 
fects and weaknesses of the human heart, a rem¬ 
edy which characterizes the educational system 
of St. John of the Cross. All the masters of the 
spiritual life, those who limit themselves to the 
general practice of ’the Christian virtues! and 
those who endeavor to lead souls to the highest 
perfection and union with God, very rightly 
think themselves obliged to regulate the affec¬ 
tions of their disciples, for without previous edu¬ 
cation of the heart, both in the spiritual and in the 
moral order, time is lost most miserably. 

10. Whoever does not control his heart will 
never become a saint nor a perfect man. He will 


60 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


lose in one moment what it took years of labor 
to gain, simply because he never educated his 
emotions. We find in the world many persons 
with excellent qualities, but who are like little 
children. Some are ruined by an attachment, 
others are entangled in friendship, and many who 
otherwise have splendid gifts and personal quali¬ 
ties, yet disgrace themselves because they do not 
know how to overcome a multitude of little sus¬ 
ceptibilities. To remedy these great human 
weaknesses the masters give a number of more 
or less complicated rules. Some of them wrote 
voluminous treatises to remedy the evil. St. 
John of the Cross, who in the ‘ 4 Ascent of Mount 
Carmel” made such a close and admirable analy¬ 
sis of the weaknesses of the human heart, 
wishes to show in a few lines how it can be cured 
radically, and therefore he goes straight to the 
root of the evil. 

He forbids all disorderly movements of the 
heart, no matter how slightly they may diverge 
in the wrong direction or may cause remorse of 
conscience or the least delay in the way of per¬ 
fection. Therefore he counsels us: Bo not in - 
terfere with anybody, do not think of anybody, 
nor love anybody, except looking at them from 
very high, from God Himself, and looking at 
them and loving them all as God looks at them 
and loves them. And to this language so ener¬ 
getic he adds: And if you do not keep this rule, 
you will never become a good religious. . . . And 


OUR NEIGHBOR 


61 


if you indulge yourself in this, the devil in some 
way or other will delude you, or you will delude 
yourself, under the pretence of good or evil . This 
threat, you ivill never become a good religious if 
you fail in this, should suffice for us who have the 
honor of being called children of the saint. He 
will not recognize as his own those who do not 
keep faithfully this advice or precaution. We 
know our holy Father does not wish to stifle or 
constrain in the least the human heart, but he 
does wish that all our affections be free not only 
from all vanity and impurity—a fact he supposes 
in his children—but also from all that can injure 
its beauty in the most pure eyes of God, or in any 
way limit its attention to certain persons or 
things to the detriment of other persons or affairs. 

11. We have no right to complain that he is 
too exacting, for this is the teaching of our 
Fathers; this is the spirit of our Order; this is 
inherent to our vocation. For the more ordinary 
and easy virtues God has destined all Christians 
in general, but He will require more from us 
because He has given us much more. Our voca¬ 
tion is a gift that honors us much; and the 
graces God has attached to it and has granted us 
are without number. It is His infallible rule to 
exact much from him to whom much has been 
given. Therefore you, dear reader, whoever you 
may be, religious or priest, lay brother or sister, 
all of us who desire to walk in the way of perfec¬ 
tion under the leadership of St. John of the 


62 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


Cross, let us not persist in deceiving ourselves. 
The teaching of the saint is decisive and this 
threat is terrific: If you dispense yourself in 
anything of this matter, you ivill never become a 
good religious. And therefore I entreat you to 
make a careful examination of your conscience 
in regard to your affections and friendships to 
persons. 

There is no doubt that any of your friendships 
is openly bad, that your heart entertains any af¬ 
fection which you esteem an offense to God. But 
notwithstanding the complete absence of a bad 
intention on your part, make this examination 
of conscience as if you were to render an account 
of your life to God. Consider well; do your af¬ 
fections cause some distractions and even anxiety 
in your spirit? Since you began to entertain 
that friendship, are you not less considerate with 
other persons? Are you not a little hard, and 
perhaps also a little unjust towards those who 
are not of your liking? Do they make you lose a 
great part of your time which you need to attend 
to other persons, to your studies, and to other occu¬ 
pations that have been entrusted to you? Do they 
prevent you from being present at the exercises 
of community as your rule obliges you? Does the 
attention to those persons render you less sincere 
with your Superiors and with yourself? Does it 
cause you to break any of your religious obliga¬ 
tions, great or small? Are you becoming more 
sensitive toward all those who do not adapt them- 


OUR NEIGHBOR 


6a 


selves to your way of thinking on this particular 
point? Examine yourself well and perhaps you 
will find that those affections that seemed to you 
so innocent and just, do not bring you nearer to 
God, nor attach you more sweetly and strongly to 
the cloister, nor stimulate you to the better fulfil¬ 
ment of all your obligations. Perhaps you will be 
bound to acknowledge that nourishing these affec¬ 
tions renders you lukewarm in the religious life, 
less submissive to the divine will, more sensitive 
toward those who correct you, less amiable to 
your brethren, and cause the thousand and one 
little observances of regular life to appear much 
heavier. 

If your conscience can not answer favorably on 
all these points, then these friendships are not 
proper for you. But I do not tell you to break 
entirely with them, if there are just motives to 
continue your intercourse with them. I only tell 
you to be very prudent and to watch the move¬ 
ments of your heart. The same holy Father says: 
Intercourse with people above what is necessary 
according to circumstances was never good for 
anybody however saintly he might be. And mind 
that he says above what was necessary according 
to circumstances. And it is plain that reason and 
sometimes charity will require you to deal more 
with one person than another. Therefore what 
the saint wants of us is that we should regulate 
our affections and our intercourse with people by 
reason, by prudence, and even by charity, and not 


64 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


by the inclinations and affections of onr heart. 
Do so and this terrible precaution and threat of 
the saint will not condemn yon. 

12. But do not believe that you will keep 
faithfully the teaching of the saint if you have no 
affection for anybody; for you must have it, and 
the more lively the better, not only for God but 
also for all the children of God who are your 
neighbors, and especially those whom Divine 
Providence has placed near you, that you may 
help them or they may help you or give you 
occasion to merit. Coldness of heart towards our 
neighbor never was or ever can be a sign of great 
Christian virtue and still less of religious perfec¬ 
tion. Indifference or coldness of heart is either 
a sign of hardness of heart or is leading to it, and 
this is not the daughter of charity but of pride 
and selfishness. Take counsel, dear reader, and 
always bear in mind that it is not so difficult to 
regulate according to God’s will the affectionate 
feelings of our heart, so as to keep them always 
alive through the many vicissitudes and contra¬ 
dictions we shall necessarily experience in our 
intercourse with the neighbor. 

It is true there is danger that the heart on ac¬ 
count of its affectionate feelings, may deviate 
from the rules of prudence and charity, but there 
is still greater danger that it may be left without 
affection and die of coldness. One of the greatest 
evils that St. Paul noticed in human nature de¬ 
graded by the old paganism was the want of 


OUR NEIGHBOR 


6& 


affection among men. Foolish, dissolute, without 
affection, without fidelity, without mercy . (11) God 
is charity and they who approach nearer to Him 
by holiness of life, share with Him more of the 
sweetness of His infinite charity. The person who 
has a heart naturally rich in affections has re¬ 
ceived a great treasure. To become a saint he 
needs only to know how to regulate his heart. 

13. To attach ourselves to certain persons and 
to allow ourselves to be carried away by such 
attachments, only because they naturally please 
us, is the sign of a weak character, of a childish 
mind. To know how to subject this affection to 
reason and prudence is proper to wise and serious 
men. It suffices to be proud not to love anybody, 
but to love all it is necessary to be- very good. 
To incline towards those only who adapt them¬ 
selves to our tastes and pleasures, and to show 
ourselves kind and affectionate towards them 
alone, one needs but to be conceited and selfish 
and to regard all things from the vantage point 
of comfort and convenience. But to be always 
affable, kind, and full of affection to all about us, 
whatever may be their personal qualities, their 
character, and their social condition, this requires 
great effort, continuous sacrifice of little suscep¬ 
tibilities and lively inclinations, which is impossi¬ 
ble without great virtue and abundant grace of 
God. 


(11) Romans I. 31. 


66 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


You must not think therefore that the ideal 
of Christian virtue consists in putting your heart 
in an ice box that it may become insensible to all 
things, love nobody, and forget everybody. This 
ideal consists rather in efficaciously defending 
your heart not only against all that could mislead 
it in the manifestation of its affections, but also 
against all that could in any way deprive it of its 
life and vigor. Perpetual youthfulness of heart, 
notwithstanding the cares and trials of human 
life, is characteristic of the saints. Believe me, 
perfect Christian virtue and great religious per¬ 
fection consist not in forgetfulness and disaffec¬ 
tion, but in forgetting and disliking yourself. It 
consists in perfect self-forgetfulness, in loving 
extremely your neighbor and in sacrificing your¬ 
self, always lavishing favors and tender affection 
on others and expecting no return but from God. 

This purifies the heart more effectively, and 
pleases God and gains more glory than the most 
severe penances and the noisy execution of great 
actions. Do not think this is not the genuine 
doctrine of our Father St. John of the Cross. It 
is he who says: The clean of heart are called by 
our Divine Saviour blessed, for blessedness is 
given to nothing less than true love. (12) Remem¬ 
ber that we are children of that remarkable 
woman, who as a woman and a saint, said so 
well: Happy the loving heart which has placed 


(12) Max. 161. 


OUR NEIGHBOR 


67 


its thoughts on God alone, and of a saint who 
likewise says: The greatest glory we can give to 
God consists in serving Him according to evan¬ 
gelical perfection; and nothing else has value or 
usefulness for man. (13) And therefore the end to 
which all the teachings of our holy Father are 
directed, and the fruit he wishes his children to 
derive from them is to stimulate their hearts to 
the exact fulfilment of the divine precept which 
contains all the evangelical doctrine, and which 
our Lord called new because the world had not 
known it: A new commandment I give unto you; 
that you love one another, as I have loved 
you. (14) 

Christ our Lord left it as the distinctive mark 
of His followers: By this shall all men know that 
you are my disciples, if you have love one for 
another. (15) With these words He gives us to 
understand that this commandment well under¬ 
stood and practised, is of itself sufficient, and 
without this all the rest avails nothing. Thus St. 
Paul understood and taught saying: Owe no man 
anything, hut love one another. For he that loveth 

his neighbor, hath fulfilled the law - The love 

of our neighbor worketh no evil. Love therefore 
is the fulfilment of the law. (16) And for the same 
reason let us establish it firmly, that our holy 
Father in this precaution as well as in all his 

(13) Max. 242. 

(14) John XIII. 34. 

(15) John XIII. 35. 

(16) Rom. XIII. 10. 


68 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


writings, no matter what the literal sense may 
appear to be, does not wish to restrain the heart 
of his children and disciples, neither in the love 
of God nor in the love of men. What the saint 
intends, as he declares in another of his books, is 
that we should not be like children in our manner 
of wishing and feeling, and in the exhibition of 
our affections and sentiments. His final aim is to 
make us men of a heart so robust, so holy and 
sane, so forgetful of itself and so full of love for 
God and men, that we may be able to love as 
Jesus loves. 


CHAPTER V 


The Second Precaution Against the World 
Worldly Riches 


1. WORDS OF THE SAINT.—2. RICHES OF THE WORLD 
FORM THE SECOND DANGER TO VIRTUE.—3. NAT¬ 
URAL AND LAWFUL TO HAVE CERTAIN AFFEC¬ 
TIONS.—4. HOW MAN HAS DISTORTED THE DESIRE 
FOR POSSESSIONS.—5. EXHAUSTLESS FOUNTAIN 
OF DISORDERS—6. THREATS AND EULOGIES.—7. 
DIVINE PROMISES TO THE POOR OF SPIRIT.—8. 
NEITHER RICHES NOR MISERY.—9. VOW OF POV¬ 
ERTY. DEFINITION OF ST. THOMAS.—10. HOW EAS¬ 
ILY THE HEART IS ATTACHED TO WORLDLY 
THINGS, NO MATTER WHETHER GREAT OR SMALL. 
—11. DOWNFALL OF MANY SOULS.—12. FOUNTAIN 
OF PEACE. 

/ 

1. “The second precaution against the world 
relates to temporal goods. If you earnestly desire 
to escape the evils which worldly goods occa¬ 
sion and restrain your excessive desire, you 
must hold all personal possession in abhorrence. 
You must not be solicitous about what you eat 
or drink or ivear, or about any created thing what- 
ever; you must not be solicitous for tomorrow, 
but occupy yourself with higher things, with the 
kingdom of God, for all these things, as our Lord 
says, shall be added unto you . He who takes care 
of the beasts will not forget you . If you do this, 
you will attain unto silence and have peace in your 
senses.” 


69 


70 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


2. The main object of the religious life is to 
free us from all the impediments which can hinder 
us from the attainment of perfect charity, as St. 
Thomas Aquinas teaches. The end then of the 
religious life, as well as of Christian morality, is 
to purify the heart from all those things that can 
prevent it from loving, as God wishes it to love. 
Not only our neighbor, but also the riches of this 
world, can weaken and pervert the movements of 
our heart. Therefore our holy Father, after hav¬ 
ing instructed us in his first precaution in regard 
to the love we owe our fellow-men, teaches us in 
this how to regulate our affections for the riches 
of the earth. Here too he shows himself very 
energetic and seemingly very rigorous. If you 
earnestly desire , he tells us, to escape the evils 
which worldly goods occasion and restrain your 
excessive desires , you must hold all personal pos¬ 
sessions in abhorrence. (1) The saint gives us the 
reason for this abhorrence in one of his admirable 
thoughts, when he says: The infinite riches of God 
can be contained only in an empty and solitary 
heart. (2) It is necessary to understand this doc¬ 
trine, that being well understood, it may be better 
esteemed and more easily practised. 

3. A certain affection for the things of the 
earth is not bad insofar as it is the natural means 
for obtaining just and reasonable ends. Hence 
the affection which is natural to us can not be 

(1) Max. 2. 

(2) Max. 353. 


WORLDLY RICHES 


71 


culpable. God Himself after He created man, 
showed him the beauties and treasures of the 
earth and constituted him lord of the world: And 
God blessed them saying: Increase and multiply, 
and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the 
fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all 
living creatures that move upon the earth. (3) 
Thus God spoke to our first parents. He appointed 
them kings and lords, and we, their children, 
though so impoverished by sin, have inherited the 
right to exercise this dominion over all creation. 
The eagerness for possession is therefore natural 
to the human heart, and for the same reason the 
word mine has a fascinating charm, it always 
sounds sweet to our ear. Children when show¬ 
ing us their toys pronounce it with innocent 
pride. Kings and merchants, when referring to 
their palaces, their industries, and their estates, 
repeat it with haughty arrogance. 

If this word awakens such a sweet echo in the 
human soul, it is because it corresponds to a 
natural inspiration of the human spirit. Conse¬ 
quently it should not be condemned without exam¬ 
ination, not even in the name of mysticism, for 
one truth can never be at variance with another, 
except when we fail to understand both or either 
of them. God has not created the human heart 
with a limitless capacity that He might have the 
pleasure of seeing it always longing for some¬ 
thing, nor has He made such beautiful creatures 


(3) Gen. I. 28. 


72 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


that we should hate them, nor finally has He given 
us the power to possess and dominate them for 
the sole purpose that we should entirely free our¬ 
selves from them. What God wants of us is the 
perfect education of the affections and desires for 
the goods of earth. 

If our holy Father so strongly recommends de¬ 
tachment, it is because he wishes us to possess all 
things in God. For this reason he takes pleasure 
in repeating the same word mine in this beautiful 
passage: Tliou wilt not take away from me, 0 my 
God, ivhat Tliou hast once given me in Thy only 
begotten Son, Jesus Christ , in Whom Thou hast 
given me all I desire... .The heavens are mine, 
the earth is mine; mine are the just, and the 
sinners are mine; mine are the angels and the 
Mother of God; all creatures are mine, God Him¬ 
self is mine and for me; because Christ is mine 
and all for me. What then dost thou ask and what 
dost thou seek, my soulf Thine is all this and all 
is for thee; do not take less nor rest with crumbs 
that fall from the table of thy Father. Go forth 
and exidt in thy glory, hide thyself in it and re¬ 
joice, and thou shalt obtain the desires of thy 
heart. (4) 

This inclination to possess and to dominate 
over all the earthly goods God so lavishly be¬ 
stows on us, so far from being bad in itself, 
corresponds to the command given by God to our 


(4) Max. 25. 


WORLDLY RICHES 


73 


first parents: Fill the earth, and subdue it, and 
rule over it. Behold the language of God to man, 
and the word of God never vanishes in air. Before 
pronouncing it, God prepared in man’s heart the 
necessary dispositions to receive it, and left there 
for its execution, desires as ardent and imperish¬ 
able as human nature itself. 

4. Though man can not radically destroy any¬ 
thing that is natural to himself without at the 
same time destroying himself, he can however 
weaken and profane everything. He can cause 
the most noble aspirations of his spirit to deviate 
from their proper object. Man has done this to 
his natural aspirations for possession, unfor¬ 
tunately converting them into a most prolific 
source of disorders, that have in turn engendered 
countless evils for the whole human race. Through 
an excessive love for the good things given him 
by God, man has often been guilty of enormous 
injustice against his brother by depriving him of 
his right to a proportionate share of the same 
goods; he has shown himself ungrateful to God 
by giving to creatures the love which was due to 
the Creator alone. Instead of using these gifts 
for the service of God and his neighbor, his pride 
converted them into a pedestal from whence he 
thinks he can with impunity insult God and de¬ 
spise and oppress his brother. 

Since every natural aspiration of the human 
spirit is imperishable, because it flows imme¬ 
diately from human nature and mediately from 
God Himself, the Author of this nature, we must 


74 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


not then pretend to destroy it, but we must edu¬ 
cate it and watch over it, and this with still 
greater care when the same inclinations are in¬ 
nate to us; for if human malice should ever viti¬ 
ate such inclinations, that vitiation would be most 
thorough and disastrous in its effects. 

5. This is what takes place when the love for 
temporal goods becomes sullied. The desire for 
possessions which in itself is good, honest, and 
holy, was placed by God in our soul, but man 
converts it into an inexhaustible source of evils 
and calamities. Therefore theologians reckon cov¬ 
etousness among the capital sins, because it is the 
most prolific mother of innumerable disorders, of 
great crimes as well as of countless smaller faults, 
discernible only to souls well purified by the fre¬ 
quent contemplation of God. The poor maid who 
in her daily marketing discounts but a few cents; 
the merchant who deceives his client; the usurer 
who pitilessly ruins his unfortunate victim; the 
potentate who reduces to misery a multitude of 
small fortunes to add some millions to his own; 
the timid nun who conceals a little picture that her 
superior may not dispose of it; the minister of the 
Lord who scandalizes his people by the manner 
in which he exacts the obolus 1 that all owe to 
the altar; the religious who in the management 
of these things breaks one of the fundamental 
vows of religious life; all, each in his own way, is 
guilty of covetousness. Were it not for the in¬ 
ordinate desire of possessing, great crimes would 


WORLDLY RICHES 


75 


be avoided in the word, while many scandals in 
the sanctuary, and a multiplicity of disturbances 
in religious life would never take place. 

Our Divine Bedeemer came to remedy this dan¬ 
gerous cancer of the human heart, and though He 
did not entirely root it out from humanity, He 
cured it in very many souls and lessened its effects 
in society. The Savior, therefore, to the great 
surprise of those who did not understand His 
spirit, showed Himself enamored of poverty of 
spirit, and extolled it by His example and His 
doctrine. He was born poor, He lived in poverty, 
He was always surrounded by the poor, and 
finally He died in the greatest indigence. 

6. As if His own example were not enough, 
Jesus consecrated a great part of His preaching 
to eulogizing poverty and severely threatened its 
enemies, in fact He was unsparing in His denun¬ 
ciation of those who love riches inordinately. 
With an indignation never before seen in Him, He 
drove from the temple those who were seeking 
worldly profit in the house of God and pronounced 
this terrible imprecation: Hoiv hardly shall they 
that have riches enter into the kingdom of God . 
(5) 1 say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass 
through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man 
to enter into the kingdom of heaven . (6) On the 
other hand our Lord commenced His sermon on 
the mount with that sublime hymn of praise of the 

(5) Luk. XVII. 24. 

(6) Mat. XIX. 24. 


76 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


poor and humble: Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are 
the meek. Blessed are the clean of heart. (7) He 
identified His person with the poor, promising 
the same reward for a service rendered the poor, 
as if it had been done to Himself. (8) 

To remove from the hearts of men all super- 
flous affection for the things of the world, He 
addressed these familiar and charming discourses 
to His disciples, a few poor men whom the Son 
of God destined to reform the world: Behold the 
birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they 
reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly 
Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more 
value than they? Consider the lilies of the field, 
how they grow; they labor not, neither do they 
spin. But I say to you that not even Solomon in 
his glory was arrayed as one of these. And if the 
grass of the field, which is today and tomorrow is 
cast into the oven, God doth so clothe: How much 
more you, 0 ye of little faith? For your Father 
knoweth that you have need of these things, seek 
ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and His 
justice, and all these things shall be added unto 
you, (9) 

7. And as if this were still too little to detach 
the poor human heart, He enriched His teaching 
with magnificent promises for those who would 


(7) Mat. V. 3-4-8. 

(8) Mat. XXV. 40. 

(9) Mat. VI. 26 etc. 


WORLDLY RICHES 


7T 

for His sake renounce earthly goods. He promised 
a hundred fold in this world for whatever they 
left and in the next life everlasting, besides mak¬ 
ing them His assessors at the last day when He 
will come to judge the world. (10) It is no wonder 
therefore that in the face of these threats and 
promises, and with their eyes fixed on Christ, the 
Judge of the living and the dead, so great a multi¬ 
tude of souls have generously condemned all 
earthly goods. And we who have imposed on our¬ 
selves the obligation of tending towards religious 
perfection, have likewise solemnly promised to 
abandon riches the better to imitate Christ, for 
the vow of poverty is one of the essential condi¬ 
tions of the religious life. This is so true that it 
is impossible for a religious order to prosper 
without its members possessing the spirit of 
poverty. 

8. But as the religious orders are not composed 
of angels, but of men, and as men have a multitude 
of necessities relating to food, clothing, lodging, 
etc., and as we must not ask Divine Providence to 
provide us miraculously with all these things, 
therefore religious orders are not forbidden to 
hold possessions, nor are their members accord¬ 
ing to their talents prohibited to take care of such 
goods, provided it is without detriment to their 
spirit and to the principal end of their vocation. 
God blesses holy poverty, but not misery. Riches 
are a danger to virtue, but it is very difficult to 

(10) Mat. XIX. 28. 


78 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


preserve peace in a house where even the neces¬ 
sary is wanting. The most important, the requisite 
for the virtue of poverty, according to the spirit 
of our Father St. John of the Cross, is not to be 
in want of all things, but the goods of the house 
should be administered in such a way that neither 
the spirit of the community will suffer, nor the 
members be in the least prevented from attaining 
their principal end, which is the kingdom of God, 
nor the heart of any religious be inordinately 
attached to these goods. 

9. For this end we have the vow and the 
virtue of holy poverty; the vow which is a denial , 
and the virtue which is an assertion . The vow 
teaches us what we must avoid in the line of 
material riches so as not to destroy the religious 
life, and the virtue directs us how to use earthly 
goods according to the spirit of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Religious persons do not frequently break 
the vow of poverty, at least in any grave matter, 
though it would not be useless to review now 
and then not only our conscience, but also moral 
theology; for to sin even gravely against the vow 
of poverty, is much easier than is generally be¬ 
lieved, and the evil inclination to appropriate 
goods blinds the conscience. 

The intention of our holy Father in this precau¬ 
tion is certainly not to prevent transgressions 
against the vow of poverty; in this he supposes 
his children sufficiently advised. He wants to in¬ 
struct us in the practice of the virtue of poverty 


WORLDLY RICHES 


79 


for which the vow is intended. The vow is only 
the means, the virtue is the end; and as the means 
are useless when they do not direct to the end, 
the vow becomes useless when it does not help 
us to acquire the virtue of poverty, that true 
poverty of spirit which Jesus Christ taught, and 
the saints so highly recommended. St. Thomas of 
Aquinas, following St. Augustine and St. Jerome, 
says that “poverty of spirit is a renunciation of 
temporal things done in spirit by the instinct or 
motion of the Holy Ghost; an annihilation of the 
spirit of pride (11) Therefore, if poverty is 
of the spirit, it can not exist in a purse, nor in an 
iron safe, in clothes, nor in a cell, but in our soul. 

Since it originates by a special motion of the 
Holy Ghost, it is a supernatural virtue, and has 
for its proper effect, to cure conceit and pride of 
mind caused by the disorderly affection to riches. 
It is clear that one can manage and even legally 
possess temporal goods, without his heart being 
inordinately attached to them. St. Ferdinand, St. 
Louis, and David were not really poor, but not¬ 
withstanding their riches they were poor in spirit, 
otherwise they would not have been saints. David 
says in his canticles and prayers to God: 1 am 
poor, a/nd in labors from my youth. (12) 

The vow of poverty which disqualifies a relig¬ 
ious from legally possessing anything in his own 
name, is an excellent and efficacious means for 

(11) St. Thomas II. 11, Q. XIX. a. 12. 

(12) Ps. 87-16. 


80 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

obtaining poverty of spirit. But it may be that 
one has never broken the vow of poverty and is 
really poor, even needy, and yet is not poor in 
spirit, if in his heart he fosters any disorderly 
affection for temporal goods. This also is the 
doctrine of our Father, and it could not be other¬ 
wise, for this is the only true doctrine. There is 
no question here of the lack of things, because 
that does not divest the soul of its affection for 
them if it has any, but of the absence of any de¬ 
sire or longing for them, which leaves the 
soul free and detached, for material objects can 
not satisfy the soul: 1 am speaking here of the 
absence of things—for absence is not detachment 
if the desire remains—but of that detachment 
which consists in suppressing desire and avoiding 
pleasure; it is this that sets the soul ffee, even 
though possession may still be retained. It is not 
the things of this world that occupy or injure the 
soul, for they do not enter within, but rather the 
wish for y and desire of them which abide within 
it. (13) 

10. But the saint, as an experienced master, 
recommends extreme vigilance in this matter; 
and with much reason for we can easily deceive 
ourselves. With the natural and just desire of 
having at our disposal the things we need for 
noble and holy ends, pride and selfishness can 
easily mix themselves; and unfortunately they 


(13) Ascent I Chap. III-4-10. 


WORLDLY RICHES 


$1 


interfere too frequently in the most holy enter¬ 
prises. In the management of temporal goods, 
selfishness can mingle in a manner so subtle that 
it is most difficult to recognize it. Only by humble 
prayer and frequent and careful examination of 
conscience can we know what spirit is moving us. 
Thus it can be known if loftiness and pride have 
disappeared from our soul, whose destruction is 
the proper effect of poverty of spirit, by the dili¬ 
gence and solicitude with which we take care of 
the things of the order according to our condition 
and rank; by the peace and resignation with which 
we allow ourselves to be deprived of anything, 
even of personal things; by the peace and spiritual 
joy with which we accept the thousand little priva¬ 
tions and contradictions that we encounter in the 
monastic life. 

It would be a disgrace if after many years of 
a life of poverty we were still far from the spirit 
of the poverty of Jesus Christ. Our Divine Re¬ 
deemer wished when founding the religious life, 
that religious as the real followers of His spirit 
of poverty should be a constant reprehension to 
that covetousness which was fearfully and deeply 
rooted in humanity. It would therefore be a 
derision of the Gospel and a scandal to the world 
if the same attachment was found in religious 
that is found in seculars. What does it matter 
whether the things to which the religious is in¬ 
ordinately attached are of little value of them¬ 
selves, if they lose that purity and liberty of spirit 


82 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

which the Lord seeks in His beloved poor? There¬ 
fore our Father St. John of the Cross says: The 
bird is equally prevented from flying whether it 
be a strong wire rope or a slender and delicate 
thread that holds it fast, for until the cord 
broken the bird can not fly: so the soul held in 
the bonds of human affections, however slight they 
may be, can not while they last make its way to 
God. (14) 

11. Forgetfulness of this teaching has brought 
great ruin to many souls. They believe that be¬ 
cause their conscience does not accuse them of 
mortal sin against the vow of poverty, they fulfill 
their duty towards God and that they have a right 
to be counted by Jesus Christ among the poor, so 
dear to His divine Heart. This is however a 
very great mistake; for if they do not try to 
detach themselves from their excessive affection 
to a book, a habit, a room, a convent, a place, they 
are not poor in spirit, and instead of attracting 
divine blessings, they will provoke God’s wrath 
against themselves and against the community. 
Therefore our holy Father adds: God is justly 
angry with certain souls whom He by His mighty 
arm has delivered from the world and from the 
occasions of grievous sins, but who are weak and 
careless in mortifying certain imperfections; and 
therefore He permits them to fall through their 
desires f rom bad to worse. (15) Our holy Father 


(14) Max. 20. 

(15) Max. 215. 


WORLDLY RICHES 


83 


says again tliat we mnst abhor all manner of 
possession which is not in accordance with the 
liberty and detachment explained above. It is 
very certain that no community will sutler any 
privation of necessaries if every member practises 
true poverty of spirit. For as the saint says: He 
who has care of the beasts will not forget you* 
God has promised this; but He exacts fidelity 'on 
our part. 

A single restless and immortified soul injures 
a community more than many wicked demons. 
Only one among many faithful was guilty of 
breaking the law of God, and notwithstanding God 
turned away His eyes and His protection from all 
the people until the culprit was separated and 
punished (16) The presence of the covetous Apos¬ 
tle Judas on the night of the Last Supper re¬ 
strained Jesus. When Judas left the room Jesus 
was among His friends, and held those ineffable 
discourses related by St. John. A single rest¬ 
less soul in a community disturbs the peace of all 
and prevents Jesus from being among His true 
friends. 

12. The exact observance of this precaution in 
a religious house will prove a perennial fountain 
of peace for souls and a perpetual source of spir¬ 
itual and material blessings. Let us finish this 
chapter with another quotation from our holy 
Father: And strive to preserve the spirit of pov- 


(16) Josue VII-12. 


84 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


erty and contempt of all earthly things; other- 
wise he assured that you will fall into a thousand 
spiritual and temporal necessities . But if you are 
content with God alone you will neither have nor 
feel any ivants; because the poor in spirit is more 
content and cheerful ivhen in need, because he has 
made nothingness his all; having found therein all 
things, he finds liberty of heart; blessed nothing¬ 
ness and blessed hiddenness of heart which is of 
such surpassing virtue that it subjects all things 
to the soul, not being subject to anything it¬ 
self. (17) 

(17) Let. 15. 


CHAPTER VI 


The Third Precaution Against the World 
Not to Interfere in Other Men’s Affairs 

1. WORD® OF THE SAINT—2. BAD EXAMPLE IN THE 
RELIGIOUS LIFE. THE SAINTS WERE PRACTICAL 
AND SINCERE.—3. ORDINARY CAUSES OF SCAN¬ 
DAL.—4. REAL FAULTS IN RELIGIOUS HOUSES — 
5. THE DEVIL TEMPTS SAINTS. PRAYER OF JESUS 
FOR SOULS THAT ARE TEMPTED. ST. PETER, JOB 
FRIENDS OF JESUS.—6. DIVINE PROVIDENCE 
WANTS US TO PROFIT BY OUR FAILINGS-—7. 
GREAT SOULS ARE NOT SCANDALIZED. HUMAN 
WEAKNESSES HARM MORE THE INCAUTIOUS WHO 
OBSERVE THEM THAN THE WEAK PERSONS THEM¬ 
SELVES.—8. SALUTARY ADVICE AND ENERGETIC 
LANGUAGE OF OUR HOLY FATHER—9. AN OBSER¬ 
VATION. RELIGIOUS VOCATION A GIFT OF GOD; 
IT DOES NOT MAKE US IMPECCABLE—10. GREAT 
ADVANTAGES OF RELIGIOUS VOCATION. VIEW 
IT FROM THE LAST MOMENT OF LIFE. 


1 . The third precaution is most necessary, that 
you may avoid all evil in your relations with the 
other religious of the community . Many from not 
heeding this, npt only have lost their peace of\ 
mind, hut have fallen and fall daily into many 
disorders and sins . Be especially careful never 
to let your mind dwell on, and still less your : 
tongue to speak of any religious in particular, do 
not discuss his condition, his conversation, or his 
actions however grave, either under color of zeal, 
or of remedying what seems amiss, except only 
to him who of right should he spoken to, and then 


85 


86 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


at the proper time. Never he scandalized or sur¬ 
prised at what you see or hear, and keep your 
sold in complete forgetfulness of all. 

If you lived among the angels and gave heed 
to what was going on, many things would seem to 
you to be wrong because you do not understand 
them. Therefore take warning of Lot's wife who, 
because she was disturbed at the destruction of 
Sodom, and turned back to see what happened, 
God punished her for this, and she was turned into 
a pillar of salt. This teaches you that it is the 
will of God even if you were living among devils, 
you should so live as not to turn back in thought 
to consider what they are doing, but forget them 
entirely. Try to keep your soul wholly for God, 
and do not suffer the thought of this or that to 
disturb you. Be sure of this, that there is no lack 
of stumbling blocks in religious houses; because 
there is no lack of devils who labor to ruin the 
saints. God permits this to exercise and prove 
them, and if you are not on your guard, you will 
never become a true religious, do what you may, 
neither will you attain to holy detachment and 
recollection, nor avoid loss. If you live other¬ 
wise, notwithstanding your zeal and good inten¬ 
tions, the devil ivill lay hold of you in one way or 
another, and indeed you are already sufficiently 
in his power when your soul is allowed such dis¬ 
tractions as these. Remember what St. James, 
the Apostle says: (( If any man think himself to 
be religious, not bridling his tongue, this man's 


ATTEND YOUR OWN AFFAIRS 


87 


religion is vain.” This is understood no less of 
the interior than of the exterior tongue . 

2. Real or supposed bad example of our breth¬ 
ren in religion is the third obstacle which the 
world opposes to the virtue of a religious per¬ 
son. We have seen that the first obstacle is ir¬ 
regular affection for any person; the second is 
disorderly attachment to worldly goods; the third 
is the bad example which perhaps we imagine we 
see in those who profess to follow the same rule 
as ourselves and in whose company we live. It 
was to guard us against this danger that our holy 
Father St. John of the Cross wrote this third pre¬ 
caution. It is evident that our holy Father con¬ 
sidered this obstacle of bad example far more 
dangerous than the two former ones, for this pre¬ 
caution is more extensive, and is framed in 
stronger language. Moreover, in the first of 
those famous “Four Counsels to a Religious,” the 
saint treats of the same subject, and almost in the 
same words, which proves that this was his pre¬ 
vailing thought. As he well knew the disastrous 
effects of bad example in the religious life, he 
wished his children to be thoroughly advised and 
prepared to meet it. Therefore he uses such ener¬ 
getic and truthful language which reveals a spirit 
full of solicitude and prudence. Here is another 
evidence that the true mystic is eminently prac¬ 
tical, notwithstanding that he ordinarily dwells 
on the heights of pure idealism. Our holy Father 
lived habitually united to God; but this did not 


88 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


prevent him from observing the persons and 
things entrusted to him. This precaution shows 
that he was a most perfect master and understood 
human life even in its least details; for he points 
out defects and dangers with such a wonderful 
precision that to excessively timid and less sin¬ 
cere persons his language must appear discour¬ 
aging. 

If this precaution, as stated above, had not 
been written by a saint like St. John of the Cross, 
undoubtedly some people would consider it less 
charitable, and perhaps even offensive to re¬ 
ligious orders. But so are the saints. Before 
all, they are friends of truth and therefore sin¬ 
cere. They do not believe that true virtue needs 
to hide anything and thus they are true realists. 
They see persons and things as they really are; 
and as they see things they say them, and they 
accept persons as they are, to instruct them and 
esteem them. The saint therefore goes straight 
to the point and lays down this proposition, which 
perhaps sounds bad in the ears of those unaccus¬ 
tomed to bear the whole truth and who know 
virtue only by halves: Be sure of this , that there 
is no lack of stumbling blocks in religious houses, 
because there is no lack of devils who labor to 
ruin the saints. 

3. What he wants to say is that whoever is 
not very careful, will always find in the religious 
life of his brethren something which will scan¬ 
dalize him. And the cause or motive of such 


ATTEND YOUR OWN AFFAIRS 


89 


scandal, as it happens in the world, may be of two 
kinds. It is necessary to distinguish them well 
not to fall victims to our own error. Sometimes 
the motive or cause of the scandal is only in the 
person who is scandalized. Or it may he found in 
his ignorance; because he does not know the 
other’s reasons for acting in that manner; or 
again, the cause may be in his own vicious^ senti¬ 
ments, his heart inclines to interpret amiss the 
actions of his neighbor. Ninety-nine per cent of 
the scandals in religious houses have their true 
origin in one of these two causes or in both to¬ 
gether: ignorance, or want of rectitude in the 
persons who are scandalized. 

When the spirit is not well purified through a 
profound knowledge of its own weaknesses, nor 
the heart well filled with charity and noble senti¬ 
ments, one sees always some stain in other peo¬ 
ple’s reputation. Then too in moral matters the 
colors are more subjective. Persons appear to 
us not so much what they really are, but rather 
what we ourselves are. There is no virtue so pure 
that will not seem stained to infirm souls. There¬ 
fore our Father St. John of the Cross says: If 
you lived among the angels and gave heed to what 
was going on, many things ivould seem to you to 
he wrong, because you do not understand them . 

4. At other times the motive of the scandal is 
exterior, as when we see that others really fail 
in their duty. This scandal also can exist and, in 
fact, does exist in the cloister; for sometimes we 


90 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

see our brethren as well as ourselves perform 
actions which are not indifferent in matters of 
morality; we are not angels, but men. We have 
not yet reached to that happy mansion of peace 
for which we hope; we are still walking through 
muddy, thorny, and dangerous roads; therefore 
we shall sometimes see our brother’s garments 
soiled and rent; perhaps we shall even behold him 
bleeding with wounds, and we may witness some 
one falling most pitifully. Indeed, no one can be 
completely secure against all these dangers whilst 
living on this earth. Behold then why the saint 
in this precaution advises us so paternally and in 
words full of charity and prudence: Never be 
scandalised or surprised at what you see or hear 
. . . .because there is no lack of devils ivho labor 
to ruin the saints; God permits this to exercise 
and prove them. 

5. Besides the numerous weaknesses inherent 
to impoverished human nature, of which we find 
it so hard to purify ourselves, are the frequent 
instigations of the evil spirit. The Holy Ghost 
continually admonishes us to be on our guard 
against these instigations of Satan. Be sober and 
watch; because your adversary the devil, as a 
roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may 
devour. (1) And our Lord warns us that Satan 
robs the seeds of good thoughts deposited in the 
soul by the word of God. (2) Jesus Christ in¬ 
ti) Peter V. 8. 

(2) Luke VIII. 12. 





ATTEND YOUR OWN AE’FAIRS 91 

formed St. Peter that the devil wanted to have 
the Apostles at his disposition to winnow them 
as the farmer winnows the wheat in the sieve: 
Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have 
you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have 
prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and thou, 
being once converted, confirm thy brethren. (3) 

It is to be remarked that in view of the tempta¬ 
tions that the Apostles and all the faithful have 
to suffer, Jesus prayed for them; in His infallible 
prayer, He did not ask that the devil might not 
tempt His disciples, nor that he might do them 
no harm. He asked only that the chief of the 
Apostles and consequently his successors should 
never waver in the faith. But the first Apostle 
was tempted, and fell shamefully denying his 
Master. 

This temptation and fall were according to 
the designs of Providence which permitted this 
fall of Peter, that Peter, being once converted and 
instructed by his sad experience, might fulfill the 
commandment of his Master: And thou, being 
once converted, confirm thy brethren. (4) We see 
the same in the history of Job when God said to 
Satan: Behold he is in thy hand , but yet save 
his life. (5) That is, do with him whatsoever you 
like, mortify him at your pleasure provided you 
spare his life. This is also the condition that 


(3) Luke XXII. 31, 32. 

(4) Luke XXII. 32. 

(5) Job II. 6. 


92 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


God lays on the devil when He permits the wicked 
one to tempt ns. He does not allow the assaults 
of the enemy to be heavier than we can bear 
with His grace and our personal efforts: God is 
faithful, who will not suffer yon to he tempted 
above that which you are able (6) says St, Paul. 
Our Lord Jesus Christ in His sublime and ten¬ 
der farewell sermon to His disciples—which 
should be read on bended knees daily by priests 
and religious—prayed for the Apostles and for 
all those who would through their word believe 
in Him. And therefore He prayed for each one 
of us who were all present to His mind and 
heart. 1 kept them in Thy name, said the loving 
Master, those whom thou gavest me have 1 kept. 

. . . .They are not of the world, as I also am not 
of the world. I pray not that thou sliouldst take 
them out of the world, but Thou shouldst keep 
them from evil. (7) Our divine Redeemer wants 
even His best friends to pass through this world, 
through this valley of tears so filled with dangers. 
And why? Only to be tempted and tried? While 
we live in this world, wherever we turn our eyes 
we shall find dangers and shall see imperfections 
and faults, we ourselves shall not be free from 
them; we may perhaps even witness some sad 
defections. 

6. Divine Providence permits these faults, 
both great and small, very often for the good of 

(6) I. Cor. XX. 13. 

(7) Jn. XVII. 12. 14, 15. 


ATTEND YOUR OWN AFFAIRS 93 

the person who commits them. Thus David al¬ 
though he bitterly repented his fall, said to the 
Lord: It is good for me that thou hast humbled 
me, that I mag learn thy justifications. (8) And 
in Ecclesiasticus we read: What doth he know 
that hath not been triedf A man that hath much 
experience shall think of many things. (9) At 
other times they are permitted as a warning to 
render us vigilant and more prudent, that seeing 
our brother’s fall, we may take greater precau¬ 
tion to avoid the same or greater faults. There¬ 
fore the Apostle warns us: He that thinketh him¬ 
self to stand let him take heed lest he fall. (TO) 

7. Let him then who is easily scandalized at 
the faults of his neighbor, and consequently 
esteems him less, remember that in this he shows 
his utter ignorance of the laws of Divine Provi¬ 
dence for the sanctification of souls and how little 
he knows of the great weakness of the human 
heart. Such scandal nearly always indicates a 
real want of uprightness in those who are so 
easily scandalized. It is nothing more than a pre¬ 
tence for criticising his neighbor and for con¬ 
cealing his own want of esteem and affection. 
Great souls are never scandalized at anything; no 
faults will cause them to cease loving and esteem¬ 
ing their neighbor. Faults, especially those 
among religious persons, do more harm to the 


(8) Ps. 118, 71 . 

(9) Eccl. XXXIV. 9. 

(10) I. Cor. XII. 12. 


94 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


observer than to the person who commits them. 
Therefore the Holy Ghost warns us in this not¬ 
able passage: Lie not in wait, nor seek after wick¬ 
edness in the house of the just, nor spoil his rest; 
for a just man shall fall seven times and shall rise 
again. (11) It is as if he said: “Because you 
have seen the fall of your brother who is, as you 
know, otherwise just and good, you must not 
make his fault appear greater than it is; do not be 
guileful or perverse, either seeking or aggravate 
ing faults which do not exist except in your own 
imagination and malice. Do not destroy his 
goods, that is, his reputation, for he shall fall and 
shall fall seven times, and so many times he shall 
rise again; while you who observe and criticize 
him shall persevere in your sin of uncharitable¬ 
ness. 

8. To avoid all these evils St. John of the 
Cross advises and even commands us, to remove 
our thoughts from all that is not edifying in our 
neighbor. He wants us to live in the com¬ 
munity as if we were entirely alone in the world: 
Be especially careful, he says, never to let your 
mind dwell on, still less your tongue speak of 
what is going on in the community, of its past or 
present state. Do not speak of any religious in 
particular; do not discuss his condition, his con¬ 
versation, or his affairs. And so strong is the 
language of our holy Father that, as he said be- 


(11) Prov. XXIV. 15, 16. 


ATTEND YOUR OWN AFFAIRS 


95 


fore, without thus refraining ourselves from 
what does not concern us, we could not enjoy 
peace even if we lived among the angels; now he 
adds: This teaches you that God ivants you to 
live in such a way that even if you were living 
among devils, you should not pay any attention 
to their actions, but completely disregard them, 
trying to keep your soid pure and entire for God. 
Greater emphasis could not be given to these 
words; therefore the doctrine recommended in 
such strong language must be of the greatest im¬ 
portance. 

9. But before commenting further upon it, I 
wish to meet an objection which might be brought 
forward: “If in the religious life one has to see 
bad example; if a St. John of the Cross thought 
he ought to warn us not to be scandalized at any¬ 
thing ; if one may fall; if even the cloister is not 
a sufficient safeguard for virtue: then my voca¬ 
tion is not of such great importance. I could 
have remained in the world and tried to sanctify 
myself there as well as in the cloister.” These 
arguments are superficial and therefore prove 
nothing. First of all we must remember that 
vocation is not the effect of each one’s fancy. You 
have not chosen me; but I have chosen you , said 
the Divine Redeemer to His disciples, and He re¬ 
peats it daily to each religious person. I have 
chosen you that you should bring forth fruit; and 
your f ruit should remain. (12) Vocation is a very 

(12) John XV. 15, 16. 


96 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

great gift to which are attached the graces each 
one needs for his own personal sanctification; he 
who does not follow it will be saved but with diffi¬ 
culty. And therefore it is as great nonsense to 
think that he who has been called to the religious 
state might as well remain in the world, as it 
would be to insist that one who has never been 
called to this state should become a religious. Re¬ 
ligious vocation does not render either us or our 
neighbor impeccable; for this is not the design of 
Divine Providence, but it causes us to fall less 
frequently and to rise more easily than people 
living in the world. 

10. Wien molested with temptations against 
our religious vocation, it will be good to meditate 
attentively on each of the nine advantages that 
St. Bernard says are attached to the religious 
vocation. In this holy state a man lives move 
purely, falls more rarely, rises more speedily . 
ivalJcs more cautiously, is refreshed more fre¬ 
quently with heavenly comforts, rests more se¬ 
curely, dies more confidently, is purified more 
quickly, and reivarded more abundantly. (13) 
Consequently a sincere person, will never diminish 
his appreciation for the religious state even 
though he may notice some imperfections or even 
bad example. There may be, and in fact there are 
temptations in this state of life, but it is nowhere 
easier to overcome them, it is nowhere so diffi- 


(13) St. Eernard de Bono Rel. 


ATTEND YOUR OWN AFFAIRS 


97 


cult to fall and at the same time so easy to rise. 
At the hour of death nobody feels sorry for having 
lived in a religious order, but on the contrary, 
almost all the persons of the world desire at that 
hour that they had lived in the most austere order. 
Let us not cherish anything during life that we 
know will torment us at the last hour. I do not 
wish to love even for a single moment what I can 
not recall to mind without feeling remorse of con¬ 
science. Let us therefore cast from us any 
temptations against our religious vocation, and let 
us rather study well this precaution of St. John 
of the Cross. He assures us that without putting 
this advice into practice we endanger the fruits of 
our religious vocation, whereas by keeping it care¬ 
fully we free ourselves from the greatest enemy of 
our soul. 

But this requires a separate chapter. 


CHAPTER VII 


Rash Judgment and Gossiping 

1. SEVERE BUT FATHERLY ADMONITION.—2. IN¬ 
TERIOR MURMURS, IGNORING THE INTENTIONS 
OF OUR NEIGHBOR.—3. SICKLY SOULS. NOTABLE 
OBSERVATION OF ST. THOMAS: HE WHO EASILY 
JUDGES REVEALS THE BOTTOM OF HIS OWN SOUL, 
—4. TERRIBLE THREATS AGAINST EVIL THINK¬ 
ERS; ST. PAUL, ST. THOMAS- THE HOLY GOSPELS. 
GOD IS MORE BENIGN THAN WE IN JUDGING OUR 
NEIGHBOR—5. EXCUSES THAT ARE NOT VERY 
SAFE—6. SINS OF THE TONGUE PROCEED FROM 
AUTO-INTOXICATION.—7. DAMAGES OF AN IMPRU¬ 
DENT WORD.—8. EFFECTS OF BACKBITING. HOLY 
SCRIPTURE CONDEMNS BACK BITERS.-9 SINS OF 
THE TONGUE ARE THE ENEMIES OF CHARITY 
AND PEACE,—10. BACKBITERS AND THE PILER 
OF SALT. MOUNTAIN OF CARDONA.—11. SOULS 
THAT TURN EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM BARREN.— 
12. RELIGIOUS HOUSES ACCORDING TO THE DE¬ 
SIGNS OF GOD. A GREAT DANGER.—13. OPPOR¬ 
TUNE OBSERVATION. A PRUDENT SUPERIOR—14. 
FORETASTE OF HEAVEN. WORDS OF ST. TERESA 
OF JESUS. 

1. Our holy Father says that for not bearing 
his third precaution in mind “many have lost, not 
only the peave and good of their soul, hut have 
fallen and do fall into many evils and sins. ,y And 
in the first of his Four Maxims to a Religious in 
which he recommends exactly the same doctrine, 
lie bids us: Observe this well. It is so important 
that for not keeping it, many religious not only 


98 


RASH JUDGMENT AND GOSSIPING 


99 


did not profit by their other virtuous and religious 
actions, but they continually went backwards, fall¬ 
ing from bad to worse. These words of our holy 
Father are too serious for any one among 1 his chil¬ 
dren not to give them the greatest attention. It is 
assured here that for not paying proper attention 
to this fatherly advice, many religious have lost 
the merit of all their virtuous actions and placed 
themselves in a very dangerous position, where 
they went from bad to worse and finally fell into 
many faults and sins. It is very sad to think that 
after many years of religious life, some of us per¬ 
haps have lost not only those years of a life of 
privation and suffering, but have brought our¬ 
selves to a most dangerous state and have become 
involved in innumerable faults and sins. Our 
holy Father assures us that there are many who 
have actually placed themselves in this perilous 
condition. 

2. Let us note some of the many evils to which 
forgetfulness of this maxim may lead. Proceeding 
in logical order, the first evil the observer and 
caviler of other men’s actions incurs is the ten¬ 
dency to judge his brethren unfavorably, which 
Theology calls making rash judgments. In the lan¬ 
guage of our holy Father it is termed interior or 
mental criticism or murmuring. When explaining 
in this same precaution a celebrated passage of 
Holy Scripture, of whom we shall speak later, he 
says: Which is understood no less of the interior 
than of the exterior tongue. This first evil will 


100 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


necessarily befall those who are addicted to ob¬ 
serving and criticising their neighbor. 

There are as many different ways of under¬ 
standing as there are heads and hearts. In every 
order, whether religious, civil or moral, there are 
certain principles or truths which we might call 
dogmatic truths, because in general at least we 
all agree to them. But in secondary principles 
or truths, and especially in detailed apprecia¬ 
tion of certain actions, each one sees them ac¬ 
cording to his own personal disposition. More¬ 
over, in the actions of our neighbor we see only 
the exterior, whereas we are nearly always igno¬ 
rant of what we should know before we are able 
to judge aright, namely of that which really makes 
the person worthy of praise or blame, that is the 
intention and motives which impelled him to act. 
Since we are then nearly always ignorant of the 
true moral principle of the actions of others, and 
since we are all naturally inclined to judge accord¬ 
ing to the particular affections of our own spirit, 
it is inevitable that a person accustomed to ob¬ 
serve and criticise other peopled actions should 
very often fall into error. 

3. It is well known that everywhere, in every 
state of life, and in every social class there are 
cramped spirits whose horizon does not extend be¬ 
yond the private and public life of their neighbor. 
This is surely a great disgrace, and it may well be 
esteemed a genuine spiritual infirmity; but with 
the grace of God and a little reflection and study 


RASH JUDGMENT AND GOSSIPING 101 

of the patient, it can be cured. Let these spiritual 
patients remember the doctrine of St. Thomas 
Aquinas and meditate seriously on it. According 
to this great master in theology, the propensity 
not only to judge but even to suspect the right¬ 
eousness of one’s neighbor nearly always pro¬ 
ceeds from one of the following causes : either the 
person himself is bad and thus perhaps uncon¬ 
sciously judges others by his own standard, or 
he entertains some bad feelings towards them, 
such as displeasure, envy, hatred or contempt for 
them; and therefore naturally experiences a cer¬ 
tain secret complacency in thinking evil about 
them, and for the same reason he believes easily 
all that gives him delight and pleasure. (1) 

This teaching of the Angel of the Schools should 
suffice, at least for the sake of well understood self- 
love and honor, to restrain us from misjudging so 
easily our brethren; because according to these 
profound observations of St. Thomas, suspicions 
and unfavorable judgments portray our own soul 
rather than that of our neighbor. In photog¬ 
raphy the negative images remain invisible until 
chemical agents reveal them. In the same way 
the series of evil suspicions or judgments regard¬ 
ing our neighbor reveals the bottom of our heart 
and the images and feelings that animate the 
same. When we notice that some good observer 
has perceived our pitiless judgments against our 


(1) St. Thomas II. 11, Q. a. LX. a. 3. 


102 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

brethren, we should blush for having manifested 
something which even decency should prompt us 
to keep closely concealed. When we are so weak 
as to take pleasure in uncharitable thoughts, we 
may well say to our heart: My poor heart, your 
unldnd thoughts of your brother, tell me only too 
plainly what you really are . 

4. But if these motives of propriety are not 
enough to restrain us from rash judgments, those 
of conscience should be decisive. St. Thomas 
after the above mentioned reflections, studies the 
moral aspect of the question and reasons as fol¬ 
lows : When somebody, on account of slight indi¬ 
cations, commences to doubt about the goodness 
of his neighbor, he sins venially. But when by 
the same slight indications, he holds the malice of 
his neighbor for certain or for granted, and this 
in a grave matter, then he is guilty of mortal sin, 
because this can not be without contempt of his 
neighbor. (2) St. Paul is still more severe in 
this well known passage: Wherefore thou art in¬ 
excusable, 0 man, whosoever thou art, that 
judgest. For wherein thou judgest another, 
thou condemnest thyself. (3) And to the Corin¬ 
thians he said: Judge not before the time, until 
the Lord come, who both will bring to light the 
hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest 
the counsels of the heart. (4) 


(2) St. Thomas II. 11, Q. LX. a. 3. 

(3) Rom. II. 1. 

(4) I Cor. IV. 5. 


RASH JUDGMENT AND GOSSIPING 103 

But the most convincing and that without any 
appeal against him who judges his neighbor, is 
from the lips of eternal truth, our Lord Jesus 
Christ : Judge not, and you shall not be judged. 
Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. 
Forgive, and you shall be forgiven . . . For with 
the same measure that you shall mete withal, it 
shall be measured to you again. (5) The word of 
our divine Savior is decisive. At our judgment 
He will apply to each one of us the same standards 
with which we have judged our neighbor. The 
poor souls that suffer from this mania of judging 
their neighbor, and who for the smallest reason 
that does not seem good to them are inclined to 
think evil of him, should meditate daily on these 
terrifying words of the Gospel. No matter how 
incredible it may seem, God who is essentially 
holy and virtue itself, judges us more mercifully 
than we do our brother, and leads us more 
fatherly; He is not surprised at our defects, for we 
read in the Book of Wisdom: Thou being master 
of power, judgest with tranquillity; and with great 
favor disposest of us. (6) Since God warns us 
that He has reserved to Himself the right of 
judgment, (7) and that He is not in a hurry to 
judge us, but on the contrary, notwithstanding 
our faults looks on us kindly and with great favor 
disposes our affairs, then we must not anticipate 


(5) Luk. VI. 37, 38. 

(6) Wis. XII. 8. 

(7) Deut. I. 17. 


104 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


His judgments by judging our brother, for we 
know that by acting thus, we prepare the sentence 
that Divine Justice wilt pronounce against us 
when we appear to render an account of our life. 

5. It is true we nearly always judge without 
malice, but through ignorance or fickleness, yet it 
is expedient not to rely too much on such excuses. 
Though it is true that ignorance powerfully 
lessens the guilt of our actions—and woe to us if 
it is not so—it is also equally true that we are 
bound to know the laws which regulate the charity 
and justice due our neighbor. It is a fact that 
real hatred or ill will are not masked for long in 
a person consecrated to God, but it is also true 
that one can not entertain the habit of thinking 
evil of others without lodging in his heart some 
disdain or contempt, some resentment or envy 
against those whom we so easily judge rashly, be¬ 
cause we can scarcely ever entertain rash-judg¬ 
ments against those whom we esteem and love 
much. The habit therefore of thinking evil of 
our neighbor supposes nearly always meanness 
of heart and places us in great danger of commit- 
ing hideous sins against charity and justice. 

6. Moreover, each one can experience by him¬ 
self, how a rash judgment is really a moral auto¬ 
intoxication. Whenever we allow our imagination 
to ramble about other people’s lives, we notice that 
we are resentful towards them, we do not feel so 
gentle, and find it somewhat hard to be indulgent 
and amiable to them; whoever thinks evil, poi- 



RASH JUDGMENT AND GOSSIPING 105 

sons himself. From this want of interior silence 
proceeds another inexhaustible source of faults, 
the innumerable sins of the tongue. Our words 
enshroud our ideas and express our sentiments; 
each one talks as he thinks and feels. Sometimes 
the exterior word is at variance with the interior 
word or thought. But to do it always, to pretend 
always, is impossible. And therefore it is impos¬ 
sible that he who ordinarily thinks evil can always 
speak well. Conscience, education, and prudence 
may help him to be careful in words; but if he is 
accustomed to think unfavorably of his neighbor, 
he will often speak to the detriment of charity 
or of justice; for after all it is always true: Out 
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speak - 
eth. (8). as our Lord tells us. If the custom 
therefore of thinking evil springs from the want 
of interior silence, from this also proceeds the 
facility with which we criticise the actions of our 
neighbor. The custom of thinking evil is the 
mother of that numerous and wretched offspring, 
sins of the tongue. Their number is legion, and 
their ravages in the world and in the cloister, God 
alone can know. 

7. We can not appreciate the destruction 
caused by a rock that has been dislodged from 
the top of a mountain, until it stops in the valley 
below. A slanderous word is like a weight drawn 
out of the heart and dropped down a precipice 


(S) Matt. XXII. 34. 


106 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


whose depths we can not measure. This word 
generally contains much bitterness, a little re¬ 
sentment and anger, some envy and jealousy, and 
always much selfishness. It is an arrow shot by 
a wounded heart that passes from one heart to 
another, from one conscience to another. To 
every one it communicates some of its poison and 
bitterness, and it increases proportionally with 
the poison of those who are already affected by 
its touch. Its passage over souls is more disas¬ 
trous than the friction of the most loathsome rep¬ 
tile on the fairest flowers. Here it dissipates cer¬ 
tain innocent and pure aspirations; there it com¬ 
municates its poison to souls who had lived united 
in happiness and confidence. To these who had 
been so happy, it leaves a little of its malice, and 
those who had harbored mutual distrust it sepa¬ 
rates definitively, putting between them, so to 
speak, a block of ice if not mountains of hatred. 
When shall there be a stop to these icy waves 
launched forth by a cold and restless heart in 
moments of imprudent confidences? God alone 
knows, as He also alone knows the destruction 
they cause. 

This is not the place to study the sins of the 
tongue in their various forms. There are great 
volumes written on this matter. We have only 
to say that all the inconveniences attending rash 
judgments are applicable to slander and fault¬ 
finding with the aggravating circumstance that 
because their action is exterior, their field is con- 


RASH JUDGMENT AND GOSSIPING 


107 


sequently much vaster. This is not the case with 
mere rash judgments, because of themselves they 
harm only the person who forms and admits 
them. We said that rash judgment was an auto¬ 
intoxication; but fault-finding poisons all the 
souls to whom it extends. A drop of poison infil¬ 
trated into the blood, running rapidly through 
veins and arteries, and destroying the vital prin¬ 
ciples of an organic being, is not so active as is 
often a single mischievous word, perhaps impru¬ 
dently uttered and dropped into a poor heart. It 
cools charity so easily, destroys the most delicate 
sensibility, and poisons the finest sentiments. It 
is a malefactor of the worst stamp, who know¬ 
ingly launches an insidious word on a person who 
was happy giving and receiving affections 
which were just, innocent, and pure. 

8. Each one can study within himself the dis¬ 
astrous effects of slander when he hears it about 
one of wliom he has a good opinion. The least it 
leaves behind is a little doubt. One becomes a 
little suspicious and distrustful, and then begins 
to observe that person. If the slander touched 
all, we shall begin to observe all. And only a 
saint can bear without blemish the constant obser¬ 
vation of a keen and distrustful spirit. The de¬ 
fects of those under observation are dispropor- 
tionally magnified before our distrustful spirit; 
and therefore it will be very difficult for us to be 
affectionate towards them and show them confi¬ 
dence. There can be no doubt that when we slan- 


108 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

der we produce in the soul of onr hearers the same 
effects that we feel when we hear others slan¬ 
dering. 

9. Sins of the tongue are the worst enemies of 
charity, and consequently of peace and of con¬ 
fidence. Therefore the Holy Ghost tells us: A 
wicked word shall change the heart out of which 
four manner of things arise; good and evil, life 
and death; and the tongue is the ruler of 
them. (9) We must not wonder then that the 
Holy Scripture is so severe against sins of the 
tongue. The Holy Ghost, who tells us that the 
same judgment that we form about our brethren 
shall be applied to us on the day of judgment, 
tells us also: By thy words thou shalt be justi¬ 
fied, and by thy words thou shalt be con¬ 
demned. (10) This watchfulness over the tongue 
is considered absolutely necessary to live in 
peace, as St. Peter says: For he that will love 
life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue 
from evil, and his lips that they speak no 
guile. (11) The Wise Man went further and said: 
Happy and blessed is the man whose tongue has 
never been a stumbling block to him. But on the 
other hand He added this terrible sentence which 
our Father St. John of the Cross mentions in this 
precaution: If any man thinks himself to be re¬ 
ligious, not bridling his tongue . . . This man’s 


(9) Eccl. XXXVII. 21. 

(10) Matt. XII. 37. 

(11) I. Pet. III. 10. 


RASH JUDGMENT AND GOSSIPING 


109 


religion is vain. (12) According to this sentence 
the unbridled tongue renders useless the good 
works of persons consecrated to God. The consid¬ 
eration of the many and terrible evils that come 
to souls who aspire after perfection, but who are 
careless about interior and exterior silence, 
should be to all the children and clients of St. 
John of the Cross a very powerful inducement to 
practise this precaution. 

10. According to St. John of the Cross an- N 
other danger threatens the observer of other 
men’s actions. It is the consequence of the two 
evils we have been studying: Take warning, he 
tells us, from the example of Lot’s wife, who, be¬ 
cause she was disturbed at the destruction of 
Sodom and turned back to see it ... God pun¬ 
ished her for it, and she was turned into a pillar 
of salt. Both times that our holy Father speaks 
on this subject, he brings forward the example of 
Lot’s wife converted into a pillar of salt, for he 
saw in this a resemblance of what happens to poor 
souls who, more through inclination than through 
prudent charity or duty of their office, occupy 
themselves with other people’s actions. These 
poor souls also are turned into pillars of salt, for 
they acquire some of its saline qualities. Salt 
stone is hard, and the hearts of those who take 
pleasure in meddling with other people’s affairs 
become hardened. He who indulges in criticising 


(12) Jas. I. 26. 


110 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


liis neighbor, can not conserve his heart tender 
and full of goodness and kindness towards his 
brethren. Moreover, salt is a sign of barrenness; 
no life is developed near rocks of salt, as is the 
case with the famous salt mountains of Cardona. 
Sometimes they seem very beautiful; but they 
never fail to cause sadness. When the variegated 
facets of their crystallized tops disperse the rays 
of the sun, they produce beautiful scenes. But 
innocent little birds do not sing on them, nor 
can the many and beautiful flowers that perfume 
the other mountains of Spain grow on them. 

11. We often find ourselves among persons 
who, not through duty nor charity, but for pure 
pastime, occupy themselves in criticising their 
neighbor. Some of these persons may at times 
charm us for a little while, but soon we feel chilled 
in their midst. Some of them think well and speak 
still better; they are real artists who reproduce 
marvelously the weaknesses that are hidden in 
the depths of the human soul. But nearly all 
these critics either through inclination or bad 
taste, these keen observers of the weaknesses of 
the external actions of their neighbor, they all 
seem to render everything around them barren, 
because they destroy, or at east inhibit, the life of 
the soul. Their fine observations, their skill in 
locating the weak point, their hard and merciless 
criticism, cause persons of generous heart to feel 
oppressed in their company. What a misfortune 
to have such persons in the community. Near 


RASH JUDGMENT AND GOSSIPING 


111 


them there is only barrenness, just as near the 
rocks of salt where no life can develop itself. 

12. In the designs of Divine Providence a re¬ 
ligious house should be a delightful garden, where 
the tree of love is preserved in full luxuriance. It 
was to plant this tree in the heart and conscience 
of men that Jesus Christ came into this world. 
It is here that the great commandment of Christ 
must be preserved in all its newness: Love one 
another as I have loved you. The atmosphere of 
a religious house should be one of peace and mu¬ 
tual confidence; confidence and peace are like the 
combined perfume of all the Christian and re¬ 
ligious virtues. But it is impossible for simple 
and frank confidence to exist where restless and 
dissatisfied spirits abound, who observe every one 
to have afterwards the pleasure of criticising 
them. Such people have the disgrace—and it is 
disgrace indeed—of considering others only from 
their weakest side; for the same reason they al¬ 
ways take pleasure in hard and merciless criti¬ 
cism. Where there are such spirits, confidence 
disappears, people assume an attitude of reserve 
which soon degenerates and grows cold, and 
finally ends in jealousy and suspicion. Eventually 
all the charm of religious life disappears com¬ 
pletely. To the sincere affection which likens a re¬ 
ligious house to a great family, there succeeds a 
rigid formalism which dries the heart and petri¬ 
fies the soul, while the spirit of religious legisla- 


112 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

tion, which is a spirit of love, of charity, and mu¬ 
tual confidence soon disappears. 

On the day that such slandering spirits abound 
in any religious congregation, that religious 
house, instead of being a mansion of peace and 
virtue, will be a field sown with salt where life 
is impossible. Therefore our holy Father recom¬ 
mends in convents such absolute abstraction 
from all that does not concern us, that none of his 
children may be turned into a pillar of salt. It is 
certain that while we live among men in this world 
we shall have to bear with the weaknesses of 
others, and they in turn will have to bear with 
ours; but we should live among them as though we 
never noticed their faults. Our Father wants us 
not to notice them, nor think of them, and much 
less speak about them. 

13. At times we ought to speak charitably to 
the person who committed a fault. But never 
speak to others except to the superior, and even 
this very seldom and always in a spirit of charity. 
Our holy Father says: Neither under the pretext 
of zeal nor of correction say anything, except to 
him who of right should he spoken to, and then 
at the proper time . If you know that the superior 
is aware of the fault, you have nothing to say. 
If after your admonition things go on as before, 
you must not disturb yourself nor inquire any 
more about it. Live as if you saw nothing and as 
if you alone lived in the monastery. Your great 
care should be to practise the virtue contrary to 


RASH JUDGMENT AND GOSSIPING 


113 


the fault you have noticed in others. It is said 
of a prudent and holy superior that he applied 
this remedy to a religious who, agitated by indis¬ 
creet zeal, denounced a violation of the rule as 
more or less grave. He received the accuser 
kindly, and said to him: “I am grateful to you, 
my dear son, for this zeal for the glory of God 
and the observance of the rule. And as you think 
that God has been offended and the rules violated, 
I permit you to fast today, and I am grateful for 
your reparation of this fault.’’ 

14. If all persons who experience so much rest¬ 
lessness on account of the faults of others, would 
themselves use this wise prescription, or if we 
would impose on ourselves the obligation, which 
in a certain sense we have, of repairing and expi¬ 
ating the faults we see in our brother, and of 
practising most assiduously the virtues opposed 
to the faults, it is certain we would be less curious 
in heeding what is going on around us and would 
exercise a greater care for our own personal 
sanctification. We would likewise observe better 
this precaution of our holy Father; we would 
think and speak less about others, and religious 
houses would be mansions of unalterable peace, 
real ante-chambers of heaven. 

Through the exact fulfillment of these three pre¬ 
cautions we shall learn to refrain completely from 
occupying ourselves with the affairs of our neigh- 


114 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


bor and from attachment to earthly things, and 
thus preserving our love well regulated, we shall 
overcome completey one of our greatest enemies— 
the world. 


CHAPER VIII 


Precautions against the Devil—Preface— 
Power of the Devil 

1. WORDS OF THE SAINT—2. BELIEF IN THE POWER 
OF EVIL SPIRITS. TESTIMONY OF HOLY SCRIP¬ 
TURE. DIABOLICAL SPIRIT OPPOSED TO THE 
CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH—3. NEITHER INCRED¬ 
ULOUS NOR FANATIC—4. BEATITUDE IS A RE¬ 
WARD. IT REQUIRES ONE’S CO-OPERATION. THE 
DEVIL TRIES TO FRUSTRATE IT.—5. HE HAS SPE¬ 
CIAL INTEREST IN TEMPTING THE GOOD. WORTH 
OF A PERFECT SOUL. THEY HIDE THEMSELVES. 
THE DEVIL CANNOT EASILY RUIN THEM; HE CAN 
DISTURB THEM.—6. THE MASK OF THE ENEMY OF 
SOULS.—7. NOTABLE PASSAGE FROM ST. JOHN OF 
THE CROSS ON DIFFERENT DELUSIONS OF THE 
DEVIL—8. MANY PEOPLE SEEM TO BE GOOD AND 
LIVE DELUDED; HOW MUCH THEY HARM THEM¬ 
SELVES AND OTHERS—9. THEY WOULD BE HORRI¬ 
FIED IF THEY KNEW IT. SINCERE EXAMINATION. 
THE DEVIL IS SATISFIED WITH MANY GOOD PER¬ 
SONS. 

1. He who aspires to religious perfection must 
take three precautions to free himself from the 
devil, his second enemy. For this purpose it must 
he noted, that among the many devices of Satan 
to deceive spiritual persons, the most ordinary is 
to deceive them by an appearance of good; he does 
not tempt them by what seems to be evil. He 
knows well they will scarcely regard that which 
they know to be evil. You must therefore always 
distrust that which seems to be good, and espe- 


115 


116 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


dally when obedience does not intervene. Safety 
here is the direction of one whom you ought to 
consult. 

2. The influence of evil spirits over men is cer¬ 
tainly not a fancy of ignorant piety, or of blind 
fanaticism. It is a belief as old as humanity. It is 
found in all countries, in all religions. It is a 
dogma of mankind. It is presupposed in many 
practices of our holy religion, and it is bound up 
with all its fundamental dogmas. If this belief 
were suppressed, we should be compelled to with¬ 
draw all our books of piety, to correct all theology 
and Catholic liturgy, and what is more, it would 
be necessary to re-write the entire Scriptures, in¬ 
asmuch as they so frequently speak of the devil 
and warn us against his craft. Our Redeemer 
Himself says that the enemy who sowed the cockle 
in the field of the good father of the family was 
no other than the devil. (1) And St. Paul exhorts 
us: Put you on the armor of God, that you may be 
able to stand against the deceits of the devil. (2) 
In another part of Holy Scripture we find this ter¬ 
rible passage, so clear and decisive and which con¬ 
tains the principles of the teachings of our Father 
St. John of the Cross in his three precautions 
against the devil. 

And that great dragon was cast out, that old 
serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who 

(1) Mat. XIII. 39. 

(2) Eph. VI, 11. 


POWER OF THE DEVIL 


117 


seduced the whole world; and he was cast into the 
earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 
And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: Woe 
to the earth , and to the sea, because the devil is 
come down unto you, having great wrath. . . . 
And the dragon was angry against the womcm; 
and went to make war with the rest of her seed, 
who keep the commandments of God , and have the 
testimony of Jesus Christ. (3) The woman 
against whom the devil was angry was the Church ; 
the rest of her seed against whom he went to 
make war, who keep the commandments of God 
and have the testimony of Christ, are all men and 
especially the faithful. It would therefore be 
heretical and blasphemous to deny the influence 
of the devil in the world, for it would be contrary 
to Holy Scripture and to the testimony of Chnst 
Himself. Whoever admits in theory the possibil¬ 
ity of evil spirits and then pretends to relegate it 
in practice to ridicule and as being useful to 
frighten or entertain ignorant people, would 
show himself to be very ignorant or at least very 
superficial in his judgments. The great saints 
and Doctors of the Church, who were not fond of 
futilities, paid great attention to this question. 

3. But if it would be heretical and blas¬ 
phemous to deny diabolical influence in the world, 
it would be just as ridiculous and as perilous to 
fancy diabolical action in every event of human 


(3) Apoc. XII. 9, etc. 


118 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


life. There is no room for incredulity or fanati¬ 
cism in this matter. The truth in this question is 
very simple. The devil on account of his hatred 
against God and jealousy towards man, because 
of the everlasting bliss awaiting him in heaven, is 
most anxious to mislead and ruin us. For each 
sin he makes us commit he procures a new of¬ 
fense against God and separates the sinner more 
from eternal bliss. If he does not succeed in ruin¬ 
ing a soul completely, he satisfies himself in doing 
as much harm as he can. He has great interest 
and takes great pleasure in all that can in any 
way deprive God of His glory and men of their 
happiness, which agrees with his pride and jeal¬ 
ousy. To succeed in this wicked aim, he relies on 
the tremendous resources of his own nature and 
the extreme weakness of human nature. The 
devil provokes us to evil, and the world and the 
flesh are his instruments, says St. Thomas 
Aquinas. (4) 

4. But God does not allow him to attempt us 
beyond our strength, and therefore we know well 
that with the grace of God and our own diligence 
we can overcome him. Beatitude is certainly a 
gift of the infinite mercy of God, but He will not 
grant it to us without effort on our part and thus 
in a certain sense we have to merit it. God does 
not wish to bestow life everlasting on those who 
have reached the use of reason as a mere gift; 


(4) I-Q-CXIV a-2. 


POWER OF THE DEVIL 


119 


He wishes it to be a reward of virtue. As for 
the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, 
said St. Paul, replete with joy. Hold fast that 
which thou hast, that no man take thy crown, said 
the Lord to the Bishop of Philadelphia. For to 
him that shall overcome, I will give to sit with me 
in my throne . (5) If it is a crown of justice, it 
is not a mere gift, it has some character of re¬ 
ward. If it is necessary to watch that nobody 
may carry off the crown that has been promised 
to us, if it is given as a reward to him who over¬ 
comes, it supposes combat and combat requires 
personal effort. It is true that this effort and this 
combat of persons as weak as we are, against such 
powerful enemies as the devils, would be entirely 
useless without divine grace and inherent special 
aids. The attainment then of eternal life and also 
of virtue suppose first of all divine grace, and 
next our constant co-operation throughout life. 
The devil knows this well, and as he can do noth¬ 
ing against God directly, he uses all his power and 
craftiness in destroying or at least in impairing 
our co-operation with divine grace. 

5. It is clear that the enemy of mankind is 
more interested in disturbing the good than in 
instigating to new sins those who are wallowing 
in crimes and vices. With these he has little to 
do; to them he leaves as his delegates and instru¬ 
ments the world and the flesh, and they themselves 


(5) Opoc. III. 11, 12. 


120 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

work out their own perdition, for one sin drags 
another after it and deep calleth on deep. (6) But 
he does not tempt in this way virtuous persons or 
those whose main profession is a virtuous life. 
The enemy understands souls and how much they 
can do to harm him. A perfect religious, a saintly 
sister, a secular person of consummate virtue, 
these are treasures of infinite value. God alone 
knows their worth, we can only surmise it. A sin¬ 
gle perfect soul is worth hundreds and thousands 
of average souls. One of them can compensate 
for all the sins of a community and even for the 
sins of a nation. Of them we can say what was 
said of our dear Lord, that He went about doing 
good. (7) 

These souls ordinarily make very little noise, 
but silently diffuse around them the perfume of 
Christ mentioned by the Apostle. (8) As flowers 
diffuse their fragrance and embalm the air and 
delight the passer-by, so do these persons with¬ 
out pretending and even without knowing, do 
good to all who approach them. Happy the re¬ 
ligious house where such a person dwells; and 
there are some in each house. That these souls 
may be somewhat hidden from the gaze of others 
in the community, and especially that they may 
not see their own virtue, God permits some de- 


(6) Ps. XLI. 8. 

(7) Act. X. 38. 

(8) II Cor. II. 15. 


POWER OF THE DEVIL 


121 


fects of character, of temperament, of special 
psychology, to hedge in their beautiful virtues; 
but their perfume is more or less breathed 
in the whole monastery. Who, no matter how 
short a time he may have lived in a religious 
house, has not felt the presence of these per¬ 
sons? It is not easy for the devil to ruin these 
nor those who have seriously resolved to walk on 
the same road. To this last class belong all of us 
who have made our religious profession. But if 
it is difficult, though not impossible, for the evil 
spirit to ruin us completely, it is very easy for 
him to disturb us and cause us much harm. Ordi¬ 
narily he will not endeavor to make a religious 
commit mortal sin, but he will prevent the attain¬ 
ment and realization of a great number of 
excellent virtues. If the devil can hinder a relig¬ 
ious from attaining to perfection, can keep him 
indolently in a mediocre state, living a languid, 
idle life of routine, one full of imperfections and 
venial sins; this is certainly more positive gain 
than if he induces those already engulfed in vices 
to add a hundred and even a thousand links to 
their chain of perdition. For the same reason, 
he labors more to hinder the perfection of a re¬ 
ligious than to increase the number of mortal 
sins in his faithful servants and wretched 
followers. 

6. For this reason also saints and spiritual di¬ 
rectors, though they make efforts to convert sin¬ 
ners, make still greater efforts to advance those 


122 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


who are on the road to perfection and to deliver 
them from the deceits of the devil. Our Father St. 
John of the Cross, before consigning to us his 
three precautions against the devil, gives us a 
very important advice; he tells us that the enemy 
nearly always tempts religious persons under the 
cloak of some good: Because he knows well that 
they will scarcely regard that which they know to 
be evil. It is clear that a person consecrated to 
God, if he has not completely lost his vocation, 
will not take an entirely vicious attitude. He may 
commit knowingly several isolated faults more 
or less noticeable, but it is not possible that he 
can assume for long an attitude openly opposed 
to his religious vocation. To do this it is neces¬ 
sary that the spirit of error should dominate him, 
and become so inveterate as to make him believe 
that his manner of thinking is preferable to that 
of other people, and that his attitude is perfectly 
safe. In this way self-esteem is fostered, the soul 
is no longer tormented with remorse of conscience, 
pride is encouraged, contempt of his neighbor 
fomented, while blindness and obstinacy of spirit 
are daily on the increase. Therefore our holy 
Father remarks in many places of his admirable 
books, that the devil deceives spiritual persons by 
placing before them some apparent good. The 
devil knows too well how to insinuate into souls a 
secret and sometimes an open self-satisfaction. 
For this end he frequently presents to the eyes 
the forms of saints and most beautiful lights; he 


POWER OF THE DEVIL 


123 


causes voices well dissembled to strike the ear, 
and delicious odors the smell; he produces sweet¬ 
ness in the mouth, and thrills of pleasure in the 
sense of touch; and makes us long for such things 
that he may lead us astray into much evil. (9) 

In another place the saint shows how the 
devil tries to imitate divine communications im¬ 
parted toJhe soul in order to deceive it the better: 
Satan, in general, comes to the soul in the ways 
and methods of God, suggesting to it communica¬ 
tions so much resembling those of God and insinu¬ 
ating himself as a wolf in sheep’s clothing among 
the flock, that he can scarcely be detected. For 
as the evil spirit announces many things that are 
true, comformable to reason, and certain men 
may be most easily deluded, thinking that as the 
prophecy corresponded with the event, it could be 
none other than God who had spoken. They do 
not reflect how very easy it is for one endowed 
with clear natural light, to understand in their 
causes many matters which have been or may be 
done. Such a one will accurately guess at many 
things to come. And as the devil is endowed with 
such a clear light, he is able to infer such results 
from such causes; though they are not such as he 
describes them, because all things depend on the 
will of God. (10) The damage which the malig* 
nant spirit causes the incautious after the manner 

(9) II Ascent XI. 

(10) II Ascent. 21. 


124 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


here described is certainly very great. Here 
also lies the main strength of spiritism; if all were 
absolutely fraud, it could do very little harm; but 
when one thing is proved to be right, we are made 
to believe a hundred lies. It is very interesting 
to the evil spirit, that arch-enemy of truth and 
meekness, that our mind is open to some error, 
especially on matters of morality, and that we 
should cleave to it tenaciously. Of course such 
a one will never reach any degree of perfection, 
even if the error is not of any great importance; 
what matters here is that the person lives in error 
as regards himself. 

8. It is not rare to find, both in religious houses 
and among Christians in the world, a great number 
of persons who in practice are far removed from 
the teaching of the Gospel, and notwithstanding 
they consider themselves very good, or at least 
superior to many about them. They believe that 
their way of thinking is most correct; that their 
actions are most efficacious for promoting every 
good work. But these good people have generally 
imbibed as much egotism and pride as their heart 
is full of good intentions. It is evident that the 
more they esteem their intentions, the more obsti¬ 
nately they adhere to the error which fosters them 
and the more aggressive are they towards those 
who can not see things as they do. But the truth 
is that this form of good intentions is the ruin of 
monasteries; is the most powerful arm the devil 
can use against the friends of God; and not seldom 


POWER OF THE DEVIL. 


125 


does he disturb the mansions of peace and charity. 

9. Such persons would be terrified, if they 
could be persuaded that their virtue is nothing 
more than a most refined egotism; and yet this 
delicate egotism informs and animates the actions 
of many. If they were sure that if it is not the 
evil spirit himself who inspires many of their 
good actions, he is at least pleased with them, 
they could not live one single day longer the life 
they have perhaps led for many long years. In 
the performance of their actions very little atten¬ 
tion has been paid to God; the glory of God 
occupied nearly always the first place in their 
words, hut perhaps the last place in the innermost 
part of their hearts. Thus many years spent in 
supposed virtue have been useless for the sancti¬ 
fication of these persons, and they have mer¬ 
ited nothing for eternal life. Many Christians, 
says our Father St. John of the Cross, have some 
virtues and perform great works, hut they will 
profit them nothing for eternal life, because they 
did not seek in them the honor and glory due to 
God, hut rather the vain satisfaction of their own 
hearts. (id 

Perhaps a five minutes’ sincere examination of 
conscience with humble prayer to God for enlight¬ 
enment, would be sufficient to convince many of 
the above persons that their spirit is not accord¬ 
ing to the Gospel; that their meekness and 


(11) Max. 339. 


126 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


humility, their abnegation and their charity, do 
not agree with the model bequeathed by our 
Divine Redeemer, and which we vowed to follow. 
What more could the evil spirit wish than to frus¬ 
trate such excellent virtue in the dearest friends 
of God? It is very mediocre for a soul consecrated 
to God to be satisfied with avoiding mortal sins 
only, without taking any care of making progress 
in religious perfection. The devil is quite content 
if he succeeds in gaining this point. Our holy 
Father, after having warned us that the devil hides 
himself under the appearance of some good, gives 
us three precautions to enable us to free ourselves 
from his snares. We shall explain each of them 
separately. 


CHAPTER IX 


Fourth Precaution, and the First against the 

Devil 


—Live Always under Obedience— 


1. WORDS OF THE SAINT.—2. HOW PLEASING TO GOD 
IS OBEDIENCE.—3. THROUGH OBEDIENCE MAN RE¬ 
CEIVES THE BLESSING OF GOD.—4. TWO MOTTOS, 
NON SERVIAM, AND FIAT VOLUNTAS TUA.—5. CHIL¬ 
DREN OF THE DEVIL. BROTHERS, SISTERS AND 
MOTHER OF JESUS. HE WHO NEITHER DECEIVES 
NOR EXAGGERATES.—6. OBEDIENCE, THE BASIS 
OF ALL ORDER AND GUARANTEE OF SUCCESS — 
7. MERIT OF GOOD WORKS LIES IN OBEDIENCE. 
ISAIAS, ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS.—8. TESTIMONY 
OF ST. TERESA. RELIGIOUS INSTITUTES CANNOT 
EXIST WITHOUT OBEDIENCE.—9. WHY THE SAINTS 
ARE SO ZEALOUS FOR OBEDIENCE. ENTIRE SAC¬ 
RIFICE OF MAN TO GOD.—10. WE CANNOT RE¬ 
CLAIM WHAT WE HAVE ONCE GIVEN TO GOD. RE¬ 
LIGIOUS WHO ELUDE OBEDIENCE COMMIT A KIND 
OF SACRILEGE.—11. NECESSITY OF ACQUIRING 
THE VIRTUE OF OBEDIENCE. ADMIRABLE TESTI¬ 
MONY OF HEDLEY. A GOOD CITIZEN, BUT NOT 
A GOOD RELIGIOUS. 


1. Let the first precaution he that you never 
set about anything, however good and charitable 
it may seem either to yourself or to anybody else, 
whether in the community or out of it, except 
under obedience, unless you are bound to do it 
by the rule of your order. If you do this you will 


127 


128 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


gain merit and be in security. Fly from self and 
you will be safe against the devil, you will also 
avoid evils of which you are ignorant, and of which 
God will ask an account one day. If you do not 
observe this, both in little things and in great, not¬ 
withstanding your apparent progress, Satan will 
most certainly deceive you little or much. Even 
if your whole error consist in your not being 
guided in all things by obedience, you are plainly 
wrong, for God wants obedience rather than sacri¬ 
fice, and the actions of a religious are not his own, 
but belong to obedience, and if he withdraws them 
from obedience, he will have to account of them 
as lost. 

2. The first precaution our Father St. John 
of the Cross gives us against the craftiness of the 
devil is complete and sincere obedience. He does 
not tell us never to act against obedience, for this 
is known to be evil in itself. But he wants all our 
actions to be regulated by obedience in such a 
manner that, if they are not executed by order of 
this virtue, he does not wish us to perform even 
those actions which are in themselves good and 
holy. First and foremost he requires obedience, 
and this very reasonably; for obedience is a 
tribute we owe to God, the Creator and supreme 
Legislator. To obey God is an act of justice and 
an acknowledgment of His infinite power and 
majesty. All great souls, because they are right¬ 
eous and just, are also obedient. Therefore the 
Holy Ghost tells us: The mind of the just studieth 


LIVE UNDER OBEDIENCE 


129 


obedience . (1) It is so pleasing to the Lord be¬ 
cause it is a sacrifice, not of our goods but of our 
reason. Our holy Father said most beautifully 
in his incomparable style: A single thought of man 
is worth more than the whole world, and for this 
reason God alone is worthy of it, and to Him alone 
it is due . Every thought of man therefore which 
is not given to God is a robbery . (2) Because by 
the virtue of obedience we have consecrated and 
subjected to God not only our actions and the 
thoughts that give them morality, but also our 
reason, the source of our thoughts. Obedience is 
therefore the first and the greatest tribute man 
can pay to his Creator, because it is the tribute 
or subjection of reason to God; it is that spirit of 
servitude in justice, (3) which the Wise Man 
wishes should direct all the actions of man. 

3. For this reason the Lord bestows all His 
blessings on perfect obedience. If in Abraham 
He blessed all the nations, it was to reward the 
submissive and simple obedience of the holy 
Patriarch to the voice of God. (4) The Father of 
Believers is also the Father of submissive and 
obedient souls. Even if one could be perfect with¬ 
out being obedient, he would have no merit. It is 
to the obedience of Jesus to His eternal Father 
that we owe our redemption, for when He was 

(1) Prov. XV. 28. 

(2) Max. 240. 

(3) Prov. II. 1. 

(4) Gen. XXII. 18. 


130 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


about to deliver Himself into the hands of the 
executioners He uttered these divine words: The 
prince of this world cometh, and in me he hath 
not anything. But that the world may know, that 
1 love the Father; and as the Father hath given 
me commandment, so do I; Arise, let us go hence . 

(5) This great spirit of love and obedience sent 
Him forth to meet His enemies and to deliver 
Himself to them. That His obedience may profit 
each of us St. Peter exhorts us: Casting away all 
uncleanness, and abundance of naughtiness, with 
meekness receive the ingrafted word, which is able 
to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word 
and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 

(6) Therefore our holy Father says that perfect 
obedience is necessary to attain perfection and 
peace of soul: What you endeavor to obtain, 
and what you most covet, you will not attain by 
your own way, nor by the highest contemplation, 
but through much obedience and submission of 
your heart. (7) 

4. It is no wonder that this great master of 
the spiritual life should recommend obedience as 
our indestructible and necessary armor against 
the evil spirit, since the spirit of simple obedience 
is most directly opposed to the diabolical spirit. 
The motto of Satan and his angels is: Non 
serviam. 1 will not serve (8) ; whereas the device 

(5) John XIV. 30, 31. 

(6) St. Jas. I. 21, 22. 

(7) Max. 36. 

(8) Jer. II. 20. 


LIVE UNDER OBEDIENCE 


131 


of our Divine Redeemer Who conquered the world, 
and through WTiom we also shall conquer is: 
Father, not my will, but thine be done. (9) He 
also tells us that He did not come into the world, 
but to do the will of His heavenly Father. (10) 

5. Since through the malice of the devil, dis¬ 
obedience and stubbornness have been and still 
are the beginning of all evil, Divine Providence has 
ordained that our redemption and the source of 
all our good should depend on obedience and 
humble submissiveness: As by the disobedience of 
one man, many were made sinners; so also by the 
obedience of one, many shall be made just. (11) 
Our tender Redeemer addressed to those who re¬ 
jected His teaching these terrible words: Why do 
you not know m,y speech? Because you can not 
hear my word. You are of your father the devil, 
and the desires of your father you will do. When 
he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he 
is liar; and the father thereof. (12) According to 
this infallible testimony of uncreated Truth, the 
devil, as he is the first father of all lies so is he 
also of all disobedience; and obstinate souls con¬ 
tract a certain affiliation with him. 

On the other hand as a counter-view to this 
terrible passage, when the same dear Lord was 
preaching on a certain day, they announced to 

(9) Luk. XXII. 24. 

(10) Heb. X. 9. 

(11) Rom. V. 19. 

(12) John VIII. 43, 44. 


132 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

Him that His Mother was waiting to see Him. He 
answered: Who is my mother, and who are my 
brethren? And stretching forth His hands to¬ 
wards His disciples, He said: Behold my mother 
and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will 
of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, 
and sister, and mother. (13) This passage con¬ 
tains the greatest and fullest praise of the obedi¬ 
ence that man can render, and it also contains the 
most terrible anathema against disobedience and 
stubbornness. Let us remember that He who 
speaks in this way is Christ, our Lord, Who can 
not exaggerate either when praising or when 
censuring, because He is infinitely true and just. 
If He casts aside as children of Satan the dis¬ 
obedient and stubborn, on the other hand He 
declares the sincerely obedient to be His friends, 
and more than friends, they form His chosen 
family. Each of these souls is to Jesus Christ, 
His brother, His sister, and His mother. The 
most holy Virgin was dear to Jesus, not so much 
because she was His Mother, as that she was the 
creature who accomplished the will of God with 
the greatest humility, purity, and promptness. 
This eulogy which our Lord bestowed on the virtue 
of obedience is marvellous, and this alone should 
more than suffice to make every religious love 
obedience. Obstinate disobedience, according to 
Holy Scripture, makes men children of the devil, 


(13) Mat. XII. 49, 50. 


LIVE UNDER OBEDIENCE 


133 


whereas sincere obedience makes them chosen 
members of the family of Jesus Christ. 

6. All the saints and all great souls have been 
lovers of the virtue of obedience; they willed it 
and practised it, because this virtue is the founda¬ 
tion of both the religious life and social order, and 
nothing else can be substituted in its place. With¬ 
out obedience to law and authority as long as it 
represents the law, it is not possible to find civic 
virtue in society, nor Christian virtue in the 
Church, and still less monastic virtue in religious 
houses. Charity and obedience constitute the 
whole of the moral-religious order. Charity is 
the whole, because all virtues are related to it as 
to the crown of religious practices. Obedience 
also is the whole, because without it as a founda¬ 
tion, there is nothing solid in religion nor in any 
other order. Man is never so great as when he 
bows his head to obey: The sons of wisdom, says 
the Holy Ghost, are the church of the just; and 
their generation, obedience and love . (14) God 
always blesses those who are obedient and renders 
their actions fruitful. That is why Holy Scripture 
tells us: An obedient man shall speak of victory . 
(15) and a venerable English bishop said: It is a 
special gift to know how to succeed in every en¬ 
terprise, and this seems to be the reward of 
obedience, for God blesses everything that is 
undertaken by holy obedience . 

(14) Eccl. III. 1. 

(15) Prov. XXI. 28. 


134 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


7. It is obedience that principally gives efficacy 
and merit to our good actions. Their strength 
lies in the spirit of obedience with which they are 
commenced and carried on, and their moral value 
in the interior submission to Him in whose honor 
they are performed. A little work done in the 
spirit of obedience is of infinite value to him who 
executes it, and may even be the beginning of 
admirable works. Unsuccessful talent is found 
everywhere. But religious orders and the Church 
itself, on the contrary, are full of admirable works 
accomplished by the simple and humble who per¬ 
form them in virtue of holy obedience. The 
sacrifices and holocausts of the Old Testament 
were excellent, and fasts are still most laudable. 
All these things the Israelites offered to God, but 
the Lord was not appeased by them; as we read 
in Isaias they complained to God saying: Why 
have we fasted and thou has not regarded; have 
we humbled our souls, and' thou hast not taken no¬ 
tice?.... And they heard this laconic answer: 
Behold in the day of your fast your own will was 
found. (16) As if the Lord had said: I know that 
you have fasted and have offered me victims, 
but all this that is good and commanded in the 
law, you have not done with the spirit of submis¬ 
sion to my will, but only because it was pleasing 
to yourselves. 


(16) Isaias. LVII. 3. 


LIVE UNDER OBEDIENCE 


135 


It is therefore no wonder that our Father St. 
John of the Cross, speaking of those who perform 
great penances without permission, wrote the 
following severe passage: These are full of im¬ 
perfections, unreasonable people, who undervalue 
submission and obedience, which is the penance of 
the, reason and the judgment, and therefore a 
more acceptable and sweet sacrifice unto God than 
all bodily penances . Bodily penance, leaving 
aside the other, is nothing else than the penance 
of animals, to which they are also moved for the 
sake of the pleasure and taste they find in it . (17) 
No greater eulogy of obedience, nor a more 
severe reprehension against those who neglect it 
even to devote themselves to great penances, has 
come from the pen of any saint, not even of a saint 
like St. John of the Cross. The austere reformer 
of Carmel, the great lover of the cross of Christ, 
and perhaps the greatest miracle of penance in 
modern times, is indignant against those who dis¬ 
regard the holy virtue of obedience and who, of 
their own accord, perform corporal penances 
without the sanction of obedience. He calls them 
most imperfect and senseless, comparable to ir¬ 
rational animals. What would our holy Father 
say of those who not only do not care for obe¬ 
dience, but who positively act against this holy 
virtue? And what if they were to act in this man¬ 
ner, not to devote themselves to austere penances, 


(17) Dark Night. VI. 


136 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

but to perform actions more or less forbidden by 
the rule or by the superior? With what words 
would the saint condemn their conduct? 

8. Our holy Mother Teresa of Jesus was of the 
same opinion, though she does not use such severe 
language: In this matter of obedience 1 should 
perhaps be more explicit, but because it seems to 
me that without obedience one cannot be a nun, I 
say nothing about it for I am speaking to nuns, 
and in my estimation to good nuns or at least they 
wish to be good; therefore in such a well-known 
and important matter no more than one word is 
necessary, not to forget it. I say then that who¬ 
ever lives under a vow of obedience and is not 
most careful to fulfill this vow with all perfection, 
1 can not understand why she is in the convent. 
At least I assure her that while she fails in this 
matter, she will never become a contemplative and 
and not even a good active religious. This I hold 
for very certain. (18). 

9. All the saints consider the virtue of obe¬ 
dience as the basis of Christian virtue, as the nec¬ 
essary foundation for community life in monas¬ 
teries, and for the sanctification of each individ¬ 
ual. If this foundation is undermined even in 
some points only the whole edifice will tumble 
down. A religious without true obedience will 
never become perfect, and a religious congrega¬ 
tion in which the bonds of obedience are relaxed 


(18) Way of Perf. XVIII. 


LIVE UNDER OBEDIENCE 


137 


will shortly find itself sentenced to death, if an 
energetic remedy is not soon applied. Therefore 
our Father St. John of the Cross tells us in this 
precaution: Never set about anything however 
good and charitable it may be, either for yourself 
or for anybody else, whether in or out of the com¬ 
munity, except under obedience . And our holy 
Mother Teresa of Jesus says also: I believe that 
when Satan sees that there is no road that leads 
more quickly to the highest perfection than this of 
obedience, he suggests many difficulties under the 
color of some good, to make it distasteful, and let 
this be marked well and they will see that 1 say' 
the truth . (19) 

St. Bonaventure does not hesitate to declare 
that all religious perfection consists in the perfect 
abnegation of one’s will, that is in perfect obe¬ 
dience. For this reason also the first of the re¬ 
ligious vows is the vow of obedience, the only one 
by which man delivers himself up completely into 
the hands of God. By the vow of poverty we 
give to God our goods, by that of chastity we re¬ 
nounce sensual pleasures, but by the vow of obe¬ 
dience we renounce our liberty. To renounce our 
reason and our liberty is nothing else than to 
deliver ourselves up to God. The vow of obedience 
therefore is the total sacrifice of man to God. 

10. And what has once been given to God can 
not lawfully be reclaimed, as St. John of the Cross 


(19) Found. V. 


138 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

teaches: The actions of a religious are not his, 
for they belong to obedience, and if he withdraws 
them from it, they will be demanded of him as lost. 
And he remarks in another place: And notice well 
that if God mil ask of every man a strict account 
for every idle deed, how much more of the re¬ 
ligious, whose life and works are consecrated to 
God. (20) 

To none better than to religious can these words 
of Holy Scripture be applied: It is like the sin of 
witchcraft, to rebel; and like the crime of idolatry, 
to refuse to obey. (21) The reason is because by 
the vow of obedience a religious consecrates his 
entire person to God, for he consecrates to God his 
will and his liberty. And therefore when he acts 
against obedience or without it, he withdraws his 
actions from the sacred altar of obedience to dedi¬ 
cate them to his caprices, which can not be done 
without dishonor or contempt of God. And if 
God was so angry with the sons of Heli because 
they withdrew some of the flesh of the victims of¬ 
fered in sacrifice (22), how much more will God 
be displeased with the religious who, having en¬ 
tirely consecrated to God his will, reclaims it, 
wishing to act according to the desires of his own 
heart, rather than according to the dictates of 
obedience ? 


(20) Max. 4. 

(21) I Kings XV. 23. 

(22) I Kings II. 19. 


LIVE UNDER OBEDIENCE 


139 


11. It is well to remember it is not enough not 
to break the vow of obedience, it is necessary also 
to acquire the virtue of obedience. The vow is the 
means, the virtue is the end; and as means that 
do not lead to the end are useless, so the vow of 
obedience has no value before God if it does not 
incline the religious to a perfect interior submis¬ 
sion to the will of God manifested by the rule or 
by his legitimate superiors. Social or civic educa¬ 
tion and the necessities of life lay down laws more 
or less just, and every self-respecting person ob¬ 
serves them exactly. It is a question of honor to 
be obedient to such laws. But this is not religious 
obedience, which is found more in the spirit than 
in the external action. 

Obedience may be taken to mean a course of 
action, or it may be taken to mean the interior im¬ 
pulse with which one acts . It may describe the 
going round of the hands of the clock on the dial, 
or it may designate the main spring hidden out of 
sight. We have to bring it home to our mind and 
heart in both acceptations; and we will begin with 
the latter . For in a life of obedience it is the spirit 
of obedience which is all important. A religious 
may obey through mere habit, by routine, for the 
sake of a quiet life, or through mere slavishness 
of disposition; such a one leads outwardly an obe¬ 
dient life; but he is not obedient. Much less is 
that religious obedient who obeys to the eye, but 
rebels inwardly. (23) 

(23) Bishop Hedley, Retreat XIX. 



140 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


This passage of the venerable prelate of New¬ 
port well deserves a little application. For he 
would not consider a religious obedient who with 
the exterior performance had not also the spirit 
of submission to God, Who intimates His will to 
him by the rule or by the superior. It does not 
matter that his exterior actions are perfectly in 
harmony with the command, or that he moves 
within the sphere assigned him with the same pre¬ 
cision that the hands of the clock move on the 
dial. This exactitude would be sufficient for civic 
but not for religious virtues. The first would 
of itself, make a good servant, an excellent em¬ 
ployee, a perfect soldier, a model citizen; but it 
is not enough to make a religious, not even a 
mediocre one, because the obedience of which we 
speak is not a civic but a religious virtue. 

By the vow of obedience we have made an of¬ 
fering of our person and our liberty to God; but 
God unlike men, is not satisfied with the appear¬ 
ance, as He tells us by His prophet: But thou , 0 
Lord of Sabaoth, judgest justly , and triest the 
reins and the heart. (24) 


(24) Jer. XI. 20. 


CHAPTER X 


The Vow and the Virtue of Obedience 


1. IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO KEEP THE VOW, IT IS NEC¬ 
ESSARY ALSO TO PRACTISE THE VIRTUE.—2. BE¬ 
TWEEN TWO EXTREMES.—3. SIN IS VERY SELDOM 
COMMITTED AGAINST THE VOW.—4. HOW SAD A 
LIFE FRUITLESSLY LABORIOUS. — 5. NEITHER 
GRAVE SINS, NOR SOLID VIRTUES. A TERRIBLE 
THREAT—6. LORD, I ALWAYS DID MY WILL, BUT 
NEVER INTENDED ANYTHING AGAINST THE 
VOWS. POOR EXCUSE.—7. REPROVE THE USELESS 
SERVANT NEITHER BREAKING THE VOW NOR AC¬ 
QUIRING VIRTUE.—8. THE VOW IS THE ROOT, THE 
VIRTUE IS THE TREE.—9. FIVE GREAT ADVAN¬ 
TAGES OF OBEDIENCE—10. WORDS OF ST. TERESA. 


1. As we have seen in the previous chapter, 
he can not be considered really obedient who is 
wanting in interior submission, though he per¬ 
forms exteriorly all that is commanded him. Nor 
can he expect any reward for his obedience who 
avails himself of a thousand little artifices more 
or less objectionable in themselves, or who tries 
to escape any commands contrary to his taste. 
In this way he will certainly not go directly coun¬ 
ter to the vow of obedience; but as his liberty is 
hardly restrained, his will can not be considered 
obedient to God, for he knows how to act as he 
pleases. Much less can he expect the reward 


141 


142 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

promised the obedient, who pays but little care to 
the thousand minor ordinances which make up 
religious life, but who is most careful to observe 
all that is formally commanded or forbidden in 
virtue of holy obedience, which binds a religious 
under pain of mortal sin. 

2. But there is a great difference between per¬ 
fect obedience and those ordinances that cannot 
be transgressed without breaking the formal pre¬ 
cepts of the vow of obedience. On the one hand 
we behold our Lord Jesus Christ, whom the sea 
and winds obeyed, (1) also the unclean spir¬ 
its, and whom the angels served,(2) and notwith¬ 
standing, He humbled Himself, becoming obe¬ 
dient unto death, even to the death of the 
cross. (3) On the other hand are the ecclesiasti¬ 
cal and moral laws which point out to religious 
the strict precepts of the vow of obedience, say¬ 
ing to them: f 4 If you go beyond this, you violate 
grievously the most fundamental of the religious 
vows, you burden your conscience with a mortal 
sin, and you become liable to all the rigor of the 
law you prof ess.’ ’ 

3. But fortunately this line or that concern¬ 
ing the other vows of religion is very seldom 
transgressed in religious houses. If in fact there 
are few who reach that degree of perfect obedi- 


(1) Mat. VII. 27. 

(2) Mat. IV. 11. 

(3) Phil. II. 8. 


VOW AND VIRTUE OF OBEDIENCE 


143 


ence, that they can truly say they have no more 
self-will in anything, but on the contrary their will 
in all things coincides with the will of God, never¬ 
theless there are still fewer who deliberately 
break the vow of obedience when it is formally in¬ 
timated to them by the rule or by the superior. 
But between these two extremes of absolute per¬ 
fection and of total ruin, there is an extensive 
sphere within which a multitude of religious per¬ 
sons move. Some of them are very near to the 
supreme ideal of obedience, others farther away, 
and still others are so very far removed from it 
that they scarcely have begun to take the first 
steps. Some others perhaps have not yet made 
any effort to start; they are busily engaged at the 
other end. They do not wish to over-step the line 
and they do not know how to withdraw them¬ 
selves from it. Like one walking near a barbed 
fence such religious must take great care not to 
injure their vows. It is only by continually re¬ 
calling their conscience that they can enjoy even 
the shadow of peace. 

4. Perhaps it will not be difficult to find in re¬ 
ligious houses some persons who are very busy, 
not precisely in trying to purify themselves from 
their imperfections or in studying how they can 
serve God better; but rather seeking how they 
can solve the difficult problem of living in such a 
manner, that they can escape drawing on them¬ 
selves the ill will of their superiors and at the 
same time enjoy sufficient liberty to follow the 


144 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


caprices of their own will. These religious are al¬ 
ways on the alert to prevent the superior from 
commanding them anything disagreeable. In this 
way they do not clash with their conscience nor 
with their self-love, because on the one hand they 
honestly believe that they fulfill all the claims of 
obedience and on the other hand they nearly al¬ 
ways do their own will. The condition of such 
souls is very sad indeed. It is true that in their 
state of conscience not a single action can be 
found which can be qualified as mortal sin; but 
perhaps in some way their condition may be 
worse, for they are without any stimulus to rouse 
remorse of conscience, without any incident to 
bear on their lukewarm and egotistic life. 

5. A mortal wound can not be found in those 
who for a long time have inhaled foul air, but as 
their whole organism is poisoned they die little 
by little, their life is so languid that it should be 
called a slow death rather than real life. So also 
these poor religious who always avoid obedience 
as much as they can; though there cannot be 
found in them a single mortal sin against the vow 
of obedience or against the other vows, still they 
live such a poor and wretched spiritual life that 
it should rather be called death than real religious 
life. How can these lives, though they are sup¬ 
posed to be free from mortal sin, be offered to 
Divine Justice to compensate to some extent for 
the sins of the world? All religious persons en¬ 
riched with the many special graces which are at- 


VOW AND VIRTUE OF OBEDIENCE 


145 


tached to their vocation and leading virtuous lives, 
should strive to appease Divine Justice by repair¬ 
ing to some degree for the sins and ingrati¬ 
tude of seculars. This is the purpose of re¬ 
ligious houses in the mind of the Church and also 
in the conscience of Christian people. But a reli¬ 
gious who, apart from clearly defined mortal sin, 
holds back as much as he can of what he had once 
freely donated to God, and this through a subtle 
egotism, will surely not make any atonement 
for the sins of others, he will rather provoke 
the divine wrath against himself. God can not be 
pleased with those who seem incapable of doing 
either good or evil, who feel neither horror for 
mortal sin nor the salutary effects of ardent 
charity. 

God Himself tells us in the Apocalypse how He 
considers such persons: 1 know thy works, that 
thou art neither cold, nor hot. But because thou art 
lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin 
to vomit thee out of my mouth. (4) What religious 
would like to have these words said of him? And 
yet it is clear that they were spoken of one who 
was not laden with mortal sin, but who did not 
experience the fervor of charity. Our Lord casts 
aside those who are guilty of grievous sin. Luke¬ 
warm souls He does not reject entirely. He keeps 
them before His eyes, they are yet in a state of 
divine grace; but they are so deformed by their 


(4) Apoc. III. 15, 16. 


146 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


lukewarmness that they provoke Him to nausea 
and eventually He will have to cast them forth. 
These words of Holy Scripture should inspire us 
with fear; but who are more lukewarm than those 
who never give their will entirely to God, although 
they have consecrated it to Him by the vow of 
obedience? God is not so much interested in the 
goods we give Him by the vow of poverty, nor in 
our body consecrated to Him by the vow of chas¬ 
tity, nor in all the rest we can offer Him. All 
these are only means leading to the true and real 
sacrifice of our own will. If we deprive Him of 
this sacrifice, what else remains of value in the 
religious life? 

6. When these poor religious who have been 
so zealous for their own will present themselves 
before their Judge to give an account of the fruit 
of their labor, they might well use these ap¬ 
parently simple words. 4 'Lord, during my whole 
religious life I tried nearly always to do my own 
will, and very often I succeeded, but at the same 
time I never tried to do what I knew was 
openly against my religious vows.” This manner 
of giving an account can neither console nor en¬ 
courage. Truly our Lord Jesus Christ did not 
establish the religious life with obedience for its 
basis and with so many graces attached to it, 
principally that the columns which were to sus¬ 
tain it might not be pulled down. The religious 
vows are only the columns of the religious state; 


VOW AND VIRTUE OF OBEDIENCE 


147 


to sin against any of them is to attempt to pull 
down the supports of the religious state. 

The first and most necessary obligation of a re¬ 
ligious is to keep his vows faithfully. But it is 
not his only obligation, for through the faithful 
observance of his vows he must acquire their cor¬ 
responding virtues. He may not have broken his 
vows of obedience or poverty if he never rebelled 
against his superior nor against the rules, nor 
used anything as his own; but if he lived nearly 
always according to his own caprices can it be said 
that he was an obedient and docile religious? Will 
he be rewarded for his religious life? He will be 
treated like the man who was sent in the morn¬ 
ing to work in a garden and in the evening had 
nothing to show he had however been careful 
not to break any of the plants. 

7. Our Lord Jesus Christ said to His disciples: 
1 have chosen you, and have appointed you , that 
you should go, and should bring forth fruit. (5) 
One returned from his mission very much satis¬ 
fied because he had been careful not to lose what 
had been entrusted to him, but he had not traded 
with the money; the Lord said of him: Take away 
the talent from him, and give it him that hath ten 
talents. For to every one that hath, shall be given, 
and he shall abound; from him that hath not, that 
also which he seemetli to have shall be taken 
away. And the unprofitable servant cast ye out 


(5) John XV. 16. 


148 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

into the exterior darkness. (6) The religious who 
never broke his vow of obedience but who did not 
endeavor to acquire the virtue of obedience, will 
be like the unprofitable servant of the Gospel, who 
hid his talent in the earth and produced nothing 
with it. He finally lost all and was cast out him¬ 
self. 

8. From the root deep down in the soil and 
well nourished with seasonable rains comes forth 
the shoot, from the shoot the branches, from the 
branches the flowers and fruits. The vow of obedi¬ 
ence is the bitter root which must be laid deep, 
for it is the interior immolation of our will to God. 
Properly guarded and cultivated it must, as its 
natural result, produce the beautiful virtue of 
obedience; this is like a well-shaped and beautiful 
trunk from which the different branches proceed, 
and which produce the most delicate flowers and 
exquisite fruits. Perfect obedience contains all 
the other virtues, and as God blesses the obedient 
religious, he never ceases to be useful to himself 
and to his order. He is the man who always 
pleases God and benefits his neighbor. Such is 
the ideal religious. 

9. The advantages of an obedient spirit are 
many and great: 

First, the religious knows that in obeying 
he is doing what pleases God most. Our 
holy Mother considered it a great blessing to be 


(6) Matt. XXV. 25. 


VOW AND VIRTUE OF OBEDIENCE 


149 


permitted to bind herself by vow to do always 
what she understood to be the most perfect. Those 
who have the good fortune of being under obedi¬ 
ence in all the details of their life, know that to 
do what is commanded them is the most perfect 
for them and the most pleasing to God. Happy 
the man who does not burden himself with the 
responsibility of his deliberations and actions. 

Second, he has the same merit in everything 
he does, both in the lowliest and in the highest 
actions; for his merit does not depend on what 
he does but on how he does it. Inasmuch as the 
only motive of his actions is the will of God 
manifested to him by His legitimate representa¬ 
tives, he merits as much, if the spirit of obedience 
is equal, as he who performs the highest and most 
honorable actions according to the world. 

Third, he is free from innumerable anxieties 
about the success of his work, and also from bitter 
disappointments in the case of failure. Who works 
under obedience, never fails; because success, 
which can never fall under obedience, is not com¬ 
manded; he is merely ordered to do all that 
lies in his power to obtain the desired end; and 
having done this he has attained his object, which 
is to please God by the execution of the obedience. 
All the rest is of secondary value only. 

Fourth, he has a certain right to the divine 
assistance; for the obedient does not act in his own 
name but in the name of God. Therefore, when he 
has done all on his part, he can say to the Lord; 


150 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

“Lord, I have done my part, what remains is 
Thine.” How encouraging to speak thus to the 
Almighty. 

Fifth, another advantage may still be added. 
The obedient religious is in a certain sense impec¬ 
cable; for as our Father St. John of the Cross 
says: He who does not walk in the way of his own 
pleasure, nor in that of the pleasure which comes 
from God, nor in that which comes from crea¬ 
tures, and does never his oivn will in anything, he 
shall never stumble. (7) 

The devil has no power against the obedient 
religious, but it is evident we shall not enjoy 
these advantages without the greatest care in 
keeping the precautions of our holy Father. 
Therefore he tells us positively: And if you do not 
observe this in things great and small, however 
much you may think that you succeed, you will not 
be able to escape the deceits of the devil in little 
or in much. Even if your whole error consisted 
in your not being ruled in all things by obedience, 
you are evidently wrong. These words of the 
saint are worthy of the deepest meditation, espe¬ 
cially when we find obedience more difficult and 
our way of thinking more reasonable. Then it is 
certain the enemy is trying to make us fall, or at 
least to deprive us of the merit of obedience. We 
know he will not tempt us with evil as such, but 
he will always offer the poison under the appear- 


(7) Max. 285. 


VOW AND VIRTUE OF OBEDIENCE 151 

ance of good. With this advice of St. John of 
the Cross always present in mind, nobody can be 
deceived. 

10. Some passages of our holy Mother St. Te¬ 
resa of Jesus will fitly close this chapter: Remem¬ 
ber, sisters, that the devil has not forgotten us; 
he invents honors even in monasteries, and cre¬ 
ates laws which ascend and descend in dignities 
like those of the world. Even if obedience were 
to order them, some would take offense, and there 
would be some to defend them, saying it was an 
affront. (8) In another place she says: The 
greatest care should be taken of the interior feel¬ 
ings; especially if they concern superiority. May 
our Lord through His passion deliver us from 
saying or thinking deliberately; I am older, I have 
more years in the Order, I have worked more, 
and yet they treat the other better. If such 
thoughts come, it is necessary to cut them off at 
once; if they are entertained or talked about, it is 
a pestilence from which great evils may result. 
If the Prioress permits such things, however little 
they may be, let them believe that God has per¬ 
mitted her to be the prioress on account of their 
sins and it is a beginning of their perdition; let 
them pray much, that it may be remedied, for they 
are in great danger. Let us resemble, my daugh¬ 
ters, in some way the great humility of the most 
holy Virgin, whose habit we wear . What a confu- 


(8) Way of Perf. XXXV. 


152 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


sion to be called her nuns, for however much we 
may think to humble ourselves, ice fall very short 
of being daughters of such a Mother, and spouses 
of such a spouse. If the aforesaid things are not 
diligently remedied, what today seems nothing, 
tomorrow will be venial sin. It is so great an evil 
that, if you are careless in this matter, it will not 
stop here. It is a very serious thing for any con¬ 
gregation. (9) 

If these prudent counsels of St. Teresa are ob¬ 
served with all exactitude, the spirit of obedience 
will be well guarded in religious houses; and if 
obedience is faithfully guarded, it will not be easy 
for the devil to disturb the peace of the children 
of God. 


(9) Way of Perf. XXXV. 



CHAPTER XI 


Fifth Precaution, The Second against the 

Devil 

How We Should Regard Our Superiors—Their 

Duties 

1. WORDS OF THE SAINT—2. IMPORTANCE OF THIS 
SUBJECT—3. HUMAN IMPERFECTIONS OF THE SU¬ 
PERIOR AND LACK OF VIRTUE IN THE INFERIOR. 
—4. DIGNITIES ARE ALSO TESTS. SOME ARE SO 
WEAK THAT A LITTLE HONOR MAKES THEM 
DIZZY.—5. MORE LIBERTY. A GOOD SUPERIOR 
SEEKS TO HAVE LESS-—6. REFLECTIONS ON THE 
FIRST SUPERIOR OF THE CHURCH.—7. THE BEST 
SUPERIOR HAS THE MOST GENEROUS HEART. 
EVERY MAN NEEDS AFFECTION.—8. TWO PRAC¬ 
TICAL EXAMPLES.—9. BEHOLD THE MANj—10. THE 
SUPERIOR A FATHER. HE HAS NO RIGHT TO RE¬ 
PEL. HE BLESSES. WE FEEL LOVED.—11. THE 
GREATEST MORAL FORCE LIES IN THE AFFEC¬ 
TION. HOW DIVINE PROVIDENCE GRANTS IT. HU¬ 
MAN NATURE IS VERY POOR IN AFFECTION—12. 
THE SUPERIOR MUST LOOK AFTER HIS SUBJECTS. 
REPULSIVE NATURES. PERSONS WHO SEEM TO 
HAVE NO OTHER MISSION THAN TO A.NNOY OTHERS. 
—13. HOURS OF TEST FOR THE SUPERIOR. VOICE 
OF CONSCIENCE, AND VOICE OF WOUNDED PRIDE. 
—14. HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO ATTEND TO CON¬ 
SCIENCE. GROANINGS OF MOSES.—15. THE UN¬ 
GRATEFUL AND THE IMPERFECT. WORDS OF 
EZECHIEL THE PROPHET.—16. THE EXAMPLE OF 
THE SUPERIOR AND HIS RESPONSIBILITY.—17. 
CELEBRATED AND TERRIBLE WORDS OF ST. 
TERESA.—18. POOR SUPERIORS. 

1. The second precaution is that you must 
never look upon your superior, whoever he may 


153 


154 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


be, with less regard than upon God Himself; be¬ 
cause he holds His place. And remember that the 
devil, the enemy of humility, interferes much in 
this matter. The advantages of looking thus upon 
your superior are great, and the neglecting it will 
cause you to suffer much loss and many evils. 
Keep a careful ivatch over yourself, do not 
look to the qualities, the manners, the ap¬ 
pearance, nor to any habits of your superior. 
If you do you harm yourself, for you will 
change your obedience from divine into human, 
and you will be influenced by what you see in 
your superior, and not by the invisible God 
whom you shoidd obey in him . Your obedi¬ 
ence will be vain or less fruitful, the more you are 
troubled by the untowardness of your superior, 
or the more you rejoice on account of his good 
qualities. For 1 tell you that a great many religi¬ 
ous in the way of perfection are ruined by not 
looking on their superiors as they ought; their 
obedience is worth little in the eyes of God, be¬ 
cause influenced by human considerations . If you 
do not overcome yourself in these things, and be 
indifferent as to who the superior may be, so far 
as your personal feelings go, you will never be 
spiritual, nor ivill you faithfully keep your vows. 

2. The words of our holy Father in this pre¬ 
caution are so weighty, that they are worthy of 
the greatest attention of all who glory in being his 


REGARD FOR SUPERIORS 


155 


children. He commands us not to look upon the 
superior, whoever he may he, with less regard 
than upon God Himself, and he assures that for 
not having observed this rule, the devil has ruined 
a multitude of religious in the way of perfection. 
And he admonishes us that if we do not observe 
this with all fidelity, we shall not only not become 
spiritual or perfect, but we shall not be able to 
keep our vows faithfully. As is evident, this is 
more than mere advice. There is no question of 
a matter that we are free to take or leave accord¬ 
ing to the greater or less devotion of our soul. 
What is said here is essential to the religious life, 
for he is not a good religious who does not keep 
his vows. Our holy Father assures us that those 
who do not observe this precaution carefully will 
not keep their vows. This matter deserves then 
our greatest attention. 

It is stated in this precaution that religious 
have a serious obligation of entirely overlooking 
the personal qualities of their superiors, and of 
fixing their mind on God alone, whom the su¬ 
perior represents. This teaching is excellent and 
necessary, both for the personal sanctification of 
each individual religious and for the welfare of 
the whole congregation; no matter what we may 
do to stimulate ourselves to put it into practice 
or to inculcate it into others, we shall always fall 
short of the reality. 

3. It is extremely necessary that whenever the 
superiors remind their subordinates of their 


156 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


duties, they do not forget their own obligations 
for they have very great ones. It is unfortunately 
a sad experience that often the scanty virtue of 
subordinates is miserably wrecked by what they 
consider the shortcomings of their superiors. It 
is clear that no superior would want to be a 
stumbling block or scandal to any weak souls 
whom the Lord entrusted to him, precisely be¬ 
cause they were weak and in need of his fatherly 
care. And therefore before commenting on this 
precaution of our holy Father, in which he tells 
us, do not look upon your superior ivith less re¬ 
gard than upon God Himself, it seems expedient 
to remind superiors of their great obligation to 
watch assiduously, that in the discharge of their 
duties their shortcomings will influence their sub¬ 
jects as little as possible; for being human, they 
have their own weaknesses. 

Many believe that ordinarily it is useless and 
even dangerous to tell half-truths. The truth can 
always be told fully, and will prove useful pro¬ 
vided it is told wholly and in the spirit of charity. 
The whole truth in the present instance is tills, 
subjects may never fix their attention on the 
personal defects of their superiors. But the 
superiors on their part have a very great obliga¬ 
tion not to try the virtue of their subordinates 
by their personal defects. The one can not be 
recommended and the other omitted entirely, 
therefore let a few simple reflections be made on 
superiors before commenting on the perfect obedi- 


REGARD FOR SUPERIORS 


157 


ence their subjects owe them. Let nobody think 
that what is said is being done in a spirit of criti¬ 
cism or opposition to authority, for it is more 
than twenty years since the writer has been free 
from the office of superior in one form or another. 
Thus these pages will serve in the first place to 
his greater confusion and as a stimulant to his 
own deficiency. 

4. First of all superiority bestows great honor 
on those on whom authority has been conferred. 
Every legitimate superior is invested with lawful 
power. St. Paul says, all power is from God, and 
therefore every superior is the vicegerent of God. 
In the discharge of his office he holds for his sub¬ 
jects the place of God Himself. Hence these 
words of the holy Gospel are applicable to all 
legitimate superiors: He that heareth you, heareth 
me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me; and 
he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me. 
(1) Those having charge of souls are deputed 
by Divine Providence for the greatest and most 
important work in the world, the sanctification 
and salvation of souls. For this renson St. Paul 
explains his office as follows: We are God's coad¬ 
jutors. (2) The most exalted dignity and the 
highest possible honor is to assist God, to co-op¬ 
erate with Him in the government and sanctifica¬ 
tion of souls. This is the relation of superiors to¬ 
wards inferiors, and for this reason they always 

(1) Luk. X. 16. 

(2) I Cor. III. 9. 


158 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

occupy a pre-eminent place among them, “they 
are worthy of double honor.” (3) 

But it would be faulty in the superior to con¬ 
sider only his right to honor or pre-eminence. For 
if authority is an honor, it is also a danger, and 
this more or less imminent according to the virtue 
and personal conditions of the superior himself. 
Authority elevates, but the higher one ascends, 
the more one is exposed to the eyes of all. While 
one mingles among the multitude, it is easy to 
conceal one’s imperfections; but if the person is 
raised ever so little, even the smallest defects will 
be noticed. Men are very unwiling to honor those 
who by their defects dishonor the position they 
occupy. W 7 e have often seen those who as indi¬ 
viduals in a humble condition were loved and 
esteemed by all, when raised to some high posi¬ 
tion were dishonored and despised. Moreover 
there are some so weak that they can not look 
from any height without feeling dizzy. Superi¬ 
ority is a great elevation and some persons 
can not look upon their subordinates without 
danger to themselves. What trifling vanity turns 
their weak heads and easily clouds their vision, 
at the smallest height ! There is no touchstone 
like that of superiority to know the true value of 
a person. 

5. The superior has nobody who will oblige 
him to observe the law. His chief and only rule 


(3) I Tim. V. 17. 


REGARD FOR SUPERIORS 


159 


of conduct in a multitude of details of daily life 
is his conscience. He enjoys therefore more 
liberty, and liberty is the true test of a person’s 
character. Good educators say that the best means 
of knowing the disposition of children, is to allow 
them complete liberty on the playground; and to 
know the real value of a person there is nothing 
like the office of superior. Great virtue and deep 
spirituality are necessary to be a superior for 
many years and not to lead a wasted life. That 
person is worthy of compassion who avails himself 
of his office to satisfy the better his caprices. He 
will surely lose his reputation in the eyes of his 
subjects. 

Everywhere and especially in religious orders, 
good superiors, far from believing that they are 
permitted certain liberties on account of their 
office, consider themselves more restricted than 
their subjects. These by simply asking the su¬ 
perior’s permission render lawful and meritorious 
the actions which in themselves are indifferent 
and even doubtful; whereas the mere lawfulness 
does not suffice for the superior, he needs the tacit 
and full consent of all his subjects, a thing not 
easily obtained. Superiors must bear in mind the 
words of that great model of superiors, St. Paul: 
All things are lawful to me, hut all things are not 
expedient. (4) 


(4) I Cor. VI. 12. 


160 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


6. Our Lord Jesus Christ personally appointed 
the first superior of His Church; but before this 
He examined him three times as to his love: Lovest 
thou me? Lovest thou me more than these? This 
question put by the Savior to man is simply ador¬ 
able ; for while reading it in the Gospel, one must 
fall on his knees and adore God, who has so tender 
a love for His creatures. It is terrible for the man 
to whom it is addressed; it is not possible to an¬ 
swer it in words when it is well understood. There 
are feelings in the heart which admit nothing but 
sobs and tears. St. Peter answered twice boldly 
saying, yes, but he had not yet understood its full 
import. The gaze and the word of God created that 
which the master sought. At the third inquiry his 
soul was transformed; the work that Jesus in¬ 
tended was accomplished. The first Apostle of 
Jesus Christ, the first superior of the Church and 
the model of all the others, could speak no more 
save in the language of love. He groaned and 
cried: Lord, Thou hnowest all things; Thou hnow- 
est that I love thee. (5) And until the sublime ques¬ 
tion was answered in this manner, the ineffable 
precept, feed my sheep, was not intimated to 
Peter. 

7. All this signifies that the superior must be 
a man of large heart. Circumstances and condi¬ 
tions being equal, he is the better superior who 
can lavish greater affection on all. The rule in 


(5) John XXI. 17. 


REGARD FOR SUPERIORS 


161 


itself is hard, and if he whose duty it is to have it 
observed does not soften it by his goodness and 
love, surely he will endanger his own authority 
and place obstacles in the way of his subjects. Re¬ 
ligious persons are especially in need of kind and 
affectionate treatment. It may seem childish to 
some, but it is a fact we must take into consid¬ 
eration, if we desire to keep the peace in religious 
communities. It is necessary to repeat; we suffer 
from hunger of affection, even when we are con¬ 
vinced that we do not deserve it. No matter how 
high a man may seem to soar in the mystical life, 
in some way or other he will manifest child-like, 
sweet emotions, when he receives certain proofs 
of sincere affection from the person whom he 
respects and esteems. 

8. The writer made in the first year of his reli¬ 
gious life the acquaintance of a certain young 
priest, who without knowing it, served as a com¬ 
plete study for observation. He had obtained 
some literary honors but his religious vocation 
was so weak that when spoken to the first time, he 
was on the eve of leaving the Order. He did 
leave it later and died soon after. One day he 
failed to come to the refectory at the hour of 
dinner, when the superior, a saintly man, asked 
the writer to discover the reason of his absence, 
and in any event to give him all needful atten¬ 
tions. It was enough to see his face to under¬ 
stand that he was greatly disturbed. The mes¬ 
sage brought him from the superior, however, en- 


162 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

couraged him. He had it repeated several times 
and being assured that it was the exact word 
of his superior, his face was illumined with rays 
of happiness; he got up at once, came down to 
the refectory, and ate with a good appetite. A 
poor man sentenced to death, whom the writer as¬ 
sisted at that terrible hour, told him: What I 
feel most is to die without having anybody's af¬ 
fection. There ivill not be a single person who will 
shed a m tear over my body, or who will erect a 
cross on my grave. And when he saw his listener 
weeping, and heard him promise that he would 
place a cross over his grave, that man not only 
ascended the steps of the gallows with resigna¬ 
tion, but even beaming with joy. 

9. Behold such is man, such is humanity when 
we understand it thoroughly. There is not a man, 
however perverse he may seem to be, who would 
not try to be a good man and even a saint, if he 
could convince himself that he is still able to re¬ 
ceive and to give sweet and pure affection like 
that he received when he played at his mother’s 
knee. 

We religious call our superior Father, and 
therefore he must have a true father’s heart. This 
is one of the greatest charms of the religious life. 
It is indeed a great happiness to love and to be 
loved with such pure affection, and at the same 
time it is so peaceful, since it is not disturbed by 
the natural inclination of relationship; and yet it 
is none the less sweet or intense. This is a treas- 


REGARD FOR SUPERIORS 


163 


lire peculiar to the religious life. In youth, when 
the heart and the imagination are still in their 
pristine freshness, and all is bright and smiling 
with happiness, it is very easy to cultivate friend¬ 
ship within the limits of a pure and sincere affec¬ 
tion, and to believe that this love is natural. But 
in later years especially in the evening of life, 
when much labor has so affected our spirit and 
our heart that it seems we have no right to smile 
but only to look up to heaven, then it is a bless¬ 
ing to be able to trust with filial confidence a man 
who has not the right to cast us aside, and who, 
we know, takes pleasure in receiving us as a 
father does his son. 

10. And because he is our father, we kiss on 
bended knee his hand or his scapular, on our knees 
we receive his blessing before retiring for the 
night, and when going out and coming home; and 
above all, what religious would like to die with¬ 
out receiving his superior’s blessing? If all this 
were not beautiful and charming, it would be a 
disgraceful farce; and if we were not sure that 
the superior really loves us as a father, it would 
be very difficult to observe these and other points 
of religious discipline. The bravest general feels 
happy when he can receive on his knees, the bless¬ 
ing and the caresses of a fond mother. In the 
same way religious, both the young who still see 
everything in roseate hues, and the old who are 
bent under their years, and sorrows, and labors, 
feel happy when they are loved by their superior. 


164 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


They look on him with satisfaction when they feel 
sure that his heart responds to the sweet name 
of Father by which they address him. 

11. But all this so sweet to the subject is most 
difficult to the superior. What is most valuable 
is always most difficult to obtain. The greatest 
moral power of man lies in his heart. A sincere 
paternal love, so strong that it endures and obliges 
one to forget and sacrifice himself entirely, is per¬ 
haps the greatest moral wonder. This love neces¬ 
sary for the existence of the human family is in¬ 
stilled by God Himself into the hearts of parents, 
and especially into the heart of the mother. As 
this love also is necessary for the life of religious 
orders, God gives it to all superiors; but He wants 
them to ask for it, and in a certain sense to merit 
it. Therefore the first superior of the Church had 
to be examined severely in the matter of his love. 

Here lies the greatest difficulty for discharging 
well the office of superior in a religious house. If 
superiors could always keep their heart under 
control, if they could conserve the youthful love 
of the saints and that affectionate goodness which 
softens every hardship; then indeed the office of 
superior would be easy. Youthfulness of heart is 
often as difficult to preserve as youthfulness of 
body, and without a very special grace it is impos¬ 
sible. Every man must lament more or less with 
the Royal Prophet: My iniquities have overtaken 
me, and I was not able to see; they have multiplied 
above the hairs of my head; and my heart hath 


REGARD FOR SUPERIORS 165 

forsaken me. (6) It is characteristic of a mother’s 
heart, and that of the great friends of God, that 
they never cease to love affectionately even under 
continual sacrifices. 

12. There is no superior who does not attend 
with fatherly solicitude to the subject who ap¬ 
proaches him in any real necessity; but this is not 
enough, the title of father obliges him to do much 
more. It is necessary to go in search of those 
who do not come to him; even of those who avoid 
him; and this not for any childish play which 
would only repel those who, whether right or not, 
esteem themselves serious men. He must use all 
lawful means to convince them of his fatherly soli¬ 
citude and love. This may at times be very diffi¬ 
cult, especially towards those who regard him 
with natural antipathy, or towards those for whom 
he has the same feeling. These persons on ac¬ 
count of their manners, their education, their char¬ 
acter, or their particular way of thinking, may 
naturally irritate the superior whenever they 
come into his presence. God for the exercise of 
His servants, certainly permits such persons to 
live in religious houses. Some souls seem to have 
as their special mission in this world to lead suf¬ 
fering lives, without themselves knowing why; 
frequently and unintentionally they mortify 
others very much. Everything molests them, 


(6) Ps. XXXIX. 130. 


166 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


and they molest everybody else, on account of 
their dissatisfaction. 

It is certain that these poor souls will assume 
in the presence of their superiors this attitude, 
so convenient for egotistic hearts, yet so contrary 
to the spirit of the gospel, so fatal to religious 
houses, and so discomforting to persons of a ten¬ 
der conscience. They assiduously observe all the 
externals of religious discipline and are vigilant 
that nobody fails in them; isolated from those 
who do not think as they do, they constitute 
themselves judges of all things and all persons. 
No doubt the superior will be the first victim; 
his real defects will he keenly noted and highly 
exaggerated, and his best intentions misinter¬ 
preted. He will not be hated—hatred cannot 
thrive in a religious house—but his self-love will 
be frequently discomfited, and his heart made to 
bleed, 

13. These are the superior’s hours of proba¬ 
tion ; in them he is purified. With his dignity of¬ 
fended and his self-love wounded, he is told to 
abandon these ingrates until they are converted; 
that it matters little if the coldness which begins 
to exist between him and them becomes more in¬ 
tense and grows, until it finally separates them 
completely; perhaps, too, he may be told to retal¬ 
iate little by little, paying them back in their 
own coin. What does his conscience say! See 
that you are a father and more than a father to 
them. You must treat them as their mother 


REGARD FOR SUPERIORS 


167 


would if she were near. A mother never forsakes 
her children, never seeks retaliation.. Human 
prudence will whisper to wounded self-love, that 
those persons will take special pleasure in wound¬ 
ing us anew at every attempt we make to approach 
them. But the charity of Jesus Christ and Chris¬ 
tian prudence tell us that these poor souls are 
passing through a crisis, that they are being 
tempted and are t aware of it; they are prejudiced 
in mind and bitter in heart. Do not forsake 
them, do not exasperate them with importune re¬ 
flections, but avail yourself of every opportunity 
to enlighten their minds and to sweeten their 
hearts. With a little love and confidence that 
you can instil into their souls, they will become 
good and perhaps better than many others. And 
while waiting for these good results, pray for 
them, suffer, and wait patiently for their return. 

14. How many sacrifices this imposes on the 
superior! How clearly it proves that the office 
of superior is a burden. If men were not so stupid 
and so ready to overlook what the office of su¬ 
perior imposes on a person, there would not be 
one willing to accept it, unless bound by the in¬ 
evitable duty of conscience. Let us agree, it sur¬ 
passes the ordinary strength of the human heart 
to love always with an affectionate goodness, to 
sacrifice one’s susceptibilities for those who love 
us little and who perhaps take pleasure in morti¬ 
fying us. It is then that the superior feels the 
need of falling down on his knees before the cru- 


168 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


cifix or the Tabernacle and of entreating with 
David: Lord, have mercy on me. . . . Create a 
clean heart in me, and renew a right spirit within 
my bowels. Cast me not away from thy face; and 
take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me 
the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with 
a perfect spirit. (7) 

In the life of every superior there are such 
critical hours when they can find no relief but in 
humble and fervent prayer. Then they well un¬ 
derstand the sobs and groans of Moses, the first 
superior of the people of God, who, notwithstand¬ 
ing the great solicitude for his people, saw them 
dissatisfied and murmuring against God and him¬ 
self. He thought his position insupportable and 
turned to God with words that indicated the pro¬ 
found bitterness of his soul: Why hast thou af¬ 
flicted thy servant? wherefore do I not find favor 
before thee? and ivhy hast thou laid the weight 
of all these people upon me? Have I conceived all 
this multitude, or begotten them, that thou 
shouldst say to me: Carry them in they bosom as 
the nurse is wont to carry the little infant, a/nd 
bear them into the land, for which thou hast sworn 
to their fathers. (8) 

15. No superior can excuse himself saying that 
others are ungrateful, for the reward is to be ex¬ 
pected from God alone; neither can he say that 

(7) Ps. L. 12, 14. = Ps. L. 12, 14. 

(8) Num. XI. 12. 


REGARD FOR SUPERIORS 


169 


they are not amiable; they are not loved on ac¬ 
count of their good qualities, but for the love of 
God. Nor again can it be a legitimate excuse to say 
that others are very defective; it is precisely for 
this reason that superiors are appointed, to correct 
them in charity, to prevent them from becoming 
worse, or at least that their defects may not influ¬ 
ence others. 

Superiors should frequently meditate on this 
passage from the Prophet Ezekiel: And the word 
of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man . . . 
Prophesy, and say to the shepherds, Thus saith 
the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, 
that fed themselves. My flock you did not feed; 
the weak you have not strengthened, and that 
which was sick you have not healed; that which 
was broken you have not bound up, and that which 
was driven away you have not brought again; but 
you ruled over them with rigor, and with a high 
hand. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of 
the Lord. I myself shall require my flock at your 
hands. (9) 

16. Besides the difficulties which the adminis¬ 
tration of religious communities naturally entails, 
there is the great responsibility due to the power¬ 
ful influence which the example of the superior 
wields over others. Ecclesiasticus tells us that as 
the ruler of a city is, so also are they that dwell 


(9) Ezech. XXXVI. 1. 


170 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


therein. (10). Perhaps none of the good qualities 
of the superior will be imitated by the religious, 
but his bad example will not be without followers. 
A good superior is a great blessing of God. If the 
Holy Scripture indicates as a sign of the approach¬ 
ing destruction of nations, that they are governed 
by youthful princes— 1 will give children to be 
their princes —(11) we can hold for certain that a 
religious, and still more a religious congregation, 
will be ruined when ruled by inapt superiors. Su¬ 
periors have before God a tremendous responsi¬ 
bility. St. Paul says: Obey your prelates, and be 
subject to them. For they watch as being to ren¬ 
der an account of your souls. (12) And the Holy 
Ghost warns superiors: A most severe judg¬ 
ment shall be for them that bear rule. (13) For 
this reason the holy king David prayed earnestly 
that God would forgive him his sins and the sins 
of others. (14) 

17. Our holy Mother St. Teresa, when speaking 
of the death of a religious who had conferred 
many favors upon her, said: He was a person of 
profound virtue and the death our Lord gave him 
was of such great edification that all wondered at 
his recollection , his spirit of penance, and his 
humility. There is question here of a person of 

(10) Eccl. x. 2. 

(11) Is. III. 4. 

(12) Heb. XIII. 17. 

(13) Wisd. VI. 6. 

(14) Ps. XVII. 14. 


REGARD FOR SUPERIORS 171 

great virtue, who had time to prepare himself 
well for death, who received all the sacraments of 
the Church and the graces of the Order, and who 
was assisted by the prayers of his brethren. One 
would expect that a religious who lived and died 
so holily went straight to heaven. But our holy 
Mother did not think so. On the contrary, when 
she heard of his death she was greatly troubled 
and began to fear for the salvation of that soul, 
because that religious had been a superior twenty 
years: When I heard that he was dead, I was ex¬ 
ceedingly troubled, because 1 trembled for his 
salvation, seeing that he had been superior for 
twenty years. That is what I dread very much; 
for the care of souls seems to me full of dangers. 

(15) 

What superior can read this without trembling! 
But let us see what our holy Mother did for her 
old superior: I went to an oratory in great dis¬ 
tress, and gave up to him all the good I had ever 
done in my whole life—it was little enough—and 
prayed our Lord that His merits might fill up 
what was wanting, in order that this soul might 
be delivered from purgatory. (Ibid.) And then 
she relates, how after fifteen days, she saw him 
come out of purgatory and go to heaven in great 
glory. 

18. That religious, a prelate of such exem¬ 
plary life and who died such an edifying death, 


(15) Life XXXVIII. 


172 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


did not come ont of purgatory until the saint 
offered up all the merits of her long and holy life, 
and asked the Lord to fill up what was wanting 
for the ransom of that soul. It is not temerity to 
suppose that the fortunate superior owed in great 
part his salvation to the prayers of his holy 
daughter in Christ. And if she feared so much 
for the salvation of that soul, what safety can we 
have, whose virtues perhaps would not receive 
from the holy Mother so complete a eulogy? If 
that religious with so many virtues had to stay 
in purgatory fifteen days, how many days shall 
we have to stay there, we, who perhaps have not 
a St. Teresa to offer up the merits of her life with 
those of our Lord Jesus Christ? 

The office of superior is fraught with many 
dangers; it imposes great and continuous sacri¬ 
fices, and brings with it a tremendous responsibil¬ 
ity. It cannot be accepted therefore except under 
strict obedience, for only in this case are there 
well-founded reasons, even a certain right to spe¬ 
cial graces from God. It is then He Who com¬ 
mands us through our superiors to rule over our 
brethren. In this case, while ruling others the 
superior obeys no less than those who carry out 
his orders. Only a fool can take pleasure in a 
position which the world calls honorable, unless 
he remembers that in holding it he fulfils a pre¬ 
cept of obedience. 

That there are some persons incapable of un¬ 
derstanding the difficulty of governing others, is 


REGARD FOR SUPERIORS 


173 


one of the great sacrifices superiors have to offer 
to God. A sacrifice is always more painful when 
it is less understood and appreciated by those for 
whom it is made, but for the same reason it will 
be more pleasing to God if it is offered up with 
a pure intention and a resigned heart. Let us keep 
all this present in mind, and it will surely be 
easier to observe the precaution of our holy 
Father, which forms the subject of the next 
chapter. 


CHAPTER XII 


The Obligations of the Subject 

1. THE SUPERIOR IS THE MESSENGER OF GOD.—2. 
PROFESSIONAL OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS PERSONS. 
THERE IS VERY SELDOM OPEN REBELLION—3. A 
SECRET REBELLION IS VERY DANGEROUS. DOC¬ 
TRINE OF ST. THOMAS—4. MORTAL SIN THROUGH 
CONTEMPT OR TO FRUSTRATE THE END OF RE¬ 
LIGIOUS LIFE.—5. THE RELIGIOUS STATE THE RAD¬ 
ICAL REMEDY FOR MORAL DISEASES OF THE HU¬ 
MAN HEART.—6. THE ESSENTIALS OF THE RE¬ 
LIGIOUS LIFE.—7. WEAK AND ENIGMATIC PER¬ 
SONS IN RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES.—8. THEY ARE 
IN GREAT DANGER OF MORTAL SIN.—9. THEY 
HAVE A POOR EXCUSEj, LAMENTABLE STATE OF 
CONSCIENCE.—10. WARNINGS OF OUR LORD JESUS 
CHRIST. 

1. We know from the foregoing precantion 
that the best and efficacious means against the 
strategies of our enemy and our own weakness, is 
a blind and prompt obedience to the will of God 
manifested by the rule or the will of our superior, 
who must govern us according to the spirit of the 
same rule. The superior is nothing more than a 
servant of the law and of his subordinates, inas¬ 
much as he is obliged in virtue of his office, to 
point out to them the will of God for their sancti¬ 
fication. The superior is therefore only God’s 
messenger to each of the religious. He who re¬ 
ceives an order through a messenger does not pay 

174 


OBLIGATIONS OF THE SUBJECT 


175 


as much attention to the messenger as to the per¬ 
son who sent it. In the same way we religious 
must not consider the person of the superior, but 
only what he orders because as long as he does 
not command anything contrary to the spirit of 
the rule, his order is from God in whose name he 
commands. Here lies the secret of religious sanc¬ 
tification. And so our Father St. John of the 
Cross and the others who signed the famous letter 
on the regular life said: What a religious does 
by obedience in little things is more pleasing to 
our Lord than if he performed great virtues and 
hard things without the sanction of holy obe¬ 
dience. 

2. But this beautiful ideal of perfection is dif¬ 
ficult to attain; the life of man however rich in 
other gifts of nature and grace, is well spent if at 
the end he reaches this perfect obedience. We re¬ 
ligious have chosen as our final goal perfect obe¬ 
dience, together with the other evangelical virtues 
of poverty and chastity; consequently our con¬ 
science and our honor also require that we con¬ 
tinually advance until we acquire the perfect sub¬ 
mission of our will. But if we cease in our pur¬ 
suit of this ideal, we may meet with great ob¬ 
stacles and even fall back. 

It is not necessary to delay in the study of what 
is clearly a mortal sin against this virtue. We 
shall not therefore stop to consider those whose 
actions are openly refractory and rebellious and 
grievously sinful before God, because such men 


176 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


are fortunately rare among the persons conse¬ 
crated to God. Open rebellion and contumacy in 
serious matters against obedience are rare, be¬ 
cause it is only in cases of the greatest importance 
that a formal precept of obedience can be imposed; 
and therefore no religious congregation has any 
such precepts. It is then very seldom that re¬ 
ligious are commanded in this form by the rule 
or by their superiors; and consequently an open 
rebellion against a formal precept is almost un¬ 
known in a religious house. 

3. There is however another rebellion much 
more dangerous, because it is more subtle and 
more difficult to recognize. It is not a disobe¬ 
dience that is visible, it is rather an interior 
antipathy willingly admitted against the spirit of 
obedience. It is not evidenced by external or vio¬ 
lent opposition to authority or to the rule in 
great matters; this is what causes it to be more- 
subtle and therefore more difficult to discover. Its 
field is also much wider, for it can extend to all 
points of the rule and to every action of the su¬ 
perior ; this too renders it more dangerous; more¬ 
over this subtle rebellion can transform acts light 
in themselves into occasions for grevious sins. 

In such a delicate and important matter the 
doctrine and the authority of the angelic St. 
Thomas Aquinas will add much weight to the in¬ 
trinsic importance of the matter. The Master 
of the Schools teaches: Whoever breaking a 
point of the law despises authority, or makes im~ 


OBLIGATIONS OP THE SUBJECT 


177 


possible the attainment of the object of the law, 
commits a mortal sin . 

4. Therefore, apart from open rebellion 
against the rule or command of superiors formally 
intimated, which happens very rarely in religious 
life, there are two other ways in which religious 
persons can commit a mortal sin against the obe¬ 
dience they have promised. In the first the trans¬ 
gression includes contempt of the law or of the 
superior; and in the second the transgression 
frustrates the end intended by the legislator. 

The end which the Supreme Legislator intended 
when establishing religious institutions, was none 
other than perfect charity; that is to love God 
above all things and our neighbour as ourselves; 
and as contempt is essentially opposed to both of 
these commandments, it is always a mortal sin. 
But how can we know whether a fault against 
obedience implies contempt or not? It imports 
much to have clear ideas on this matter, inasmuch 
as there is always mortal sin in a fault that seems 
insignificant in itself when committed with con¬ 
tempt. 

The Angelic Doctor explains this point with his 
customary clearness. There is contempt of the law 
or of authority when one disobeys, not through 
fickleness or inattention, not because the mind is 
disturbed by some passion of anger or disorderly 
affection, but only because obedience is repugnant 


(1) St. Thomas II. 11 Q. 147. 


178 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

to the will. (2) Frequent transgressions of obe¬ 
dience do not imply contempt of the law or author¬ 
ity, and hence there is no right to think that he 
who frequently sins against obedience in small 
matters, is in state of mortal sin. But as frequent 
faults against a virtue predispose a person 
against it, as the same saint remarks, so there is 
danger of committing the sin of contempt uncon¬ 
sciously through the frequent repetition of acts 
against the virtue of obedience. 

5. Having clearly laid down the premises, it is 
very easy to draw the consequences, and each one 
should apply them to himself. There are persons 
so unreliable, and their state of conscience is so 
extravagant, that the mere fact that something 
is forbidden is the most powerful incentive for 
them to act, and the fact that it is commanded 
causes them the greatest difficulty to perform it. 
This is the surest proof that our nature has been 
thoroughly infected by the primitive rebellion. 
The will repels subjection, not because it sees a 
greater good in acting contrary to what has been 
commanded, but because it repels all subjection. 
That the vow of obedience might provide a radical 
cure for this evil, the religious state was estab¬ 
lished and founded by our Lord Jesus Christ, 
Persons outside the religious state will obey be¬ 
cause they are forced by necessity, or to gain 
attention, or because what has been commanded 


(2) II. 11, Q. 186. 


OBLIGATIONS OF THE SUBJECT 


179 


seems to be reasonable. But we religious have no 
right to say that what is commanded is reasonable; 
we have to obey because this is our profession, be¬ 
cause we made the sacrifice of our will to God, and 
God wishes that our life should be a continuous 
sacrifice and a constant reaction against the rebel¬ 
lion of the human mind. This rebellion is a primi¬ 
tive disease and so deeply rooted in human nature 
that it leads man to desire, not what is best, but 
what is more to his taste. 

6. ** There is no merit in obeying because what 
is commanded seems to us reasonable,” said the 
Little Flower. And St. Thomas teaches: By the 
vow of obedience man contracts the obligation of 
doing for the love of God what is disagreeable to 
himself. And so the things he does are more 
pleasing to God, though in themselves they may 
be of less value, because mam cannot offer to God 
anything greater than to submit his unit to an¬ 
other man for the love of Him. (3) This is the 
most essential point in the religious state, and the 
motive of that simple and childlike obedience, 
called the evangelical virtue, because it is highly 
recommended in the Gospel and its perfect model 
is found in the life of Christ. This virtue is most 
pleasing to God because it cannot be acquired 
without the perfect purification of the spirit and 
without perfect charity. The different practices 
in religious life have no value without obedience. 


(3) II. 11, Q. 186, a 5 ad 5um. 


180 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


The attainment of this perfect submission of mind 
and heart to the will of God, is therefore one of the 
chief aims of the religious life. 

7. Perhaps it would not be difficult to find in 
religious houses persons who are not yet entirely 
cured of this rebellion of the human heart. It 
might even be said that years of religious life 
have rather hardened their will than softened 
it. They may have no attachment to anything 
that is or seems to be sinful, but they stubbornly 
follow their caprices. They have no consciousness 
of being bad, and for nothing in the world would 
they break a formal precept of obedience; but they 
seem to take special delight in certain little trans¬ 
gressions of the rule that are habitual with them; 
and perhaps they find a secret pleasure in seeing 
those who represent the rule mortified and con¬ 
tradicted, only because obedience is repugnant to 
them and they do not want anybody to mingle in 
their affairs. They know well that their way of 
acting is the source of much displeasure to the 
person who has to govern them; and they also 
know that they are the cause of much disturbance 
and evil in the community. They are not ignorant 
that through their behavior they render very 
difficult, if not impossible, the spirit of confidence, 
of peace, and of harmony that should prevail in 
the monastery among the religious themselves and 
that should regulate all their relations with the 
superior. This triple spirit of perfect charity and 
perfect obedience is the object the Supreme Legis- 


OBLIGATIONS OP THE SUBJECT 


181 


la tor had in view when founding the religious 
state. And if these souls with their stubborn spirit 
either prevent or render more difficult the attain¬ 
ment of this noble end, how can they enjoy peace 
of conscience? Or is there perhaps at the bottom 
of their souls a subtle spirit of rebellion which 
unconsciously makes them fall into the grievous 
sin of contempt of the law and of authority? 

8. This inclination of easily violating the rule 
or the orders of superiors, has it not perhaps con¬ 
tracted in them a certain habit of disgust in regard 
to obedience? And if St. Thomas says that those 
who despise the law or the authority of superiors, 
or make the attainment of the object of the re¬ 
ligious life impossible, commit mortal sin, it is 
evident that those who with such facility and as 
if by habit fail against holy obedience are in 
the greatest danger of lapsing into mortal sin. 

Superiors, as was said in the previous chapter, 
are in serious danger of offending God gravely; 
but neither are the subjects free from this dan¬ 
ger. Their only safety lies in humble and simple 
submission to the rules of their congregation. 
However, there are not many who scorn the au¬ 
thority of the rule. It is possible and even easy, 
but it is not common even among those who more 
or less frequently disobey the orders of their 
superior. The reason is this: although pride is 
the chief cause of our sins of disobedience, never¬ 
theless there is almost always some other cause 


182 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


present that lessens the responsibility of our 
actions. 

9. One of the causes that attenuate the malice 
of our disobedience is to be found in the personal 
qualities of the superior. Very often the defects 
noticed in the superior provoke the selfishness of 
the subject, and there is no person who is alto¬ 
gether free from selfishness or sensitiveness. 
Human frailty will find in the supposed defects 
of the superior a reason which dispenses from 
obeying promptly and cordially his least indica¬ 
tions. In this instance the disobedience, without 
formal contempt, will not ordinarily be contempt 
of authority, but rather a dislike of the person 
in whom the authority is vested. 

i 1 1 would be very obedient if my superiors were 
what they should be. I would never offer the 
least resistance to their commands, if I was sure 
that they were dictated by a spirit of rectitude 
and prudence. But it is extremely difficult for 
me to obey those promptly and blindly who are 
destitute of the virtue and talent necessary for 
the position they occupy.” This is the state of 
mind in nearly all those who more or less habit¬ 
ually transgress holy obedience; scarcely ever do 
they think that their lack of submission to su¬ 
periors is due to contempt of the law of the 
superior. They do not think that their will re¬ 
fuses to obey, for they know that it would then be 
formal contempt of authority and consequently a 
mortal sin against the fundamental virtue of re- 


OBLIGATIONS OF THE SUBJECT 


183 


ligious life. But this excuse will never be a rec¬ 
ommendation of their virtue, because it indicates 
a lamentable state of conscience, and imminent 
danger of losing entirely their religious vocation. 

10. Our Divine Redeemer established the re¬ 
ligious state to he the basis of the evangelical 
counsels, when teaching those counsels in His first 
sermon to the multitude the Master said: I tell 
you, that unless your justice abound more than 
that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not 
enter into the kingdom of heaven. (4) For if you 
love them that love you, what reward shall you 
have? Do not even the publicans this? And if you 
salute your brethren only, what do you more? 
Do not also the heathens this? Be ye therefore 
perfect, as also your heavenly Father is per¬ 
fect. (5) For not every one that saith to me Lord 
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. (6) 

These words of our Lord should induce us to 
make some very serious reflections, for we have 
left the world and entered religion with the ex¬ 
plicit intention of observing the counsels. For 
this purpose God and the Church have enriched 
the religious life with so many graces and privi¬ 
leges. Only those who fulfil the will of God shall 
be saved. 

But the spirit of submission to the divine will 
must be greater in religious persons than among 

t 

(4) Matt. V. 20. 

(5) Matt. V. 46, 47. 

(6) Matt. VII. 21. 


184 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


Christians in general, and also greater than among 
priests themselves. If we obey exteriorly with¬ 
out the interior submission we have no right to 
any reward, for God does not want external 
actions but our will. Slaves are very obedient 
exteriorly, and even the devils obey God. If in our 
obedience we submit our will only when the com¬ 
mand or the person who commands is pleasing to 
us, then we shall have no reward, for even those 
who are not Christians do this. If our justice or 
our spirit of submission is not greater than that 
of the rest of mankind, we shall fare very badly 
on the great day of final reckoning. 

Our holy Mother St. Teresa says: The Lord 
said to me once that 1 was not obedient if I was 
not determined to suffer. (7) Therefore the obe¬ 
dience that does not carry with it some sacrifice 
is of little value. The pretext of failing in obe¬ 
dience because we do not like the superior, is a 
very poor excuse. This precaution of our holy 
Father St. John of the Cross is directly opposed 
to those who thus pretend to excuse themselves. 
He tells them that persons who regulate their obe¬ 
dience by the personal qualities of the superior 
are totally ruined in religious perfection. And 
your obedience will be vain, or the more imper¬ 
fect, the more you are grieved by the bad qualities 
of the superior, or rejoice at his good qualities . 


(7) Life XXXVI. 


OBLIGATIONS OP THE SUBJECT 


185 


This saying is very hard; and what is worse, 
we expose ourselves to lose all the merit of our 
obedience even when we think we are very obe¬ 
dient; for moral actions derive their merit not pre¬ 
cisely from their quality, but from the motive or 
intention with which they are performed. The 
same holy Father adds: If you do not overcome 
yourself in this, and he indifferent as to who your 
superior may he, so far as your private feelings 
are concerned, you will never he spiritual, nor 
will you hep your vows faithfully. 

We shall study in the next chapter how this 
advice of St. John of the Cross can be carried out. 



CHAPTER XIII 


Religious Obedience 

1 TO LOOK TO THE QUALITIES OF THE SUPERIORS 
IS TO LOSE ALL THE MERIT OF OBEDIENCE.—2. IT 
IS EASY TO FORM JUDGMENTS AND HAVE UNFAV¬ 
ORABLE CONVERSATIONS AGAINST THE SUPE¬ 
RIOR.—3. THE MOST DELICATE FLOWER OF CHAR¬ 
ITY. DEPTH OF HUMAN PRIDE.—4. FIRST MUR¬ 
MURING AND REBELLION IN THE WORLD. ITS 
CONSEQUENCES—5. SCANDAL IN RELIGIOUS HOUS¬ 
ES.—6. SUPERIORS ARE NOT INFALLIBLE. WE 
MUST BE GUIDED BY REASON, BUT REASON IT¬ 
SELF TELLS US TO OBEY WITH SIMPLE SUBMIS¬ 
SION.—7. THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE SUPERIOR. 
IDEALS AND PRACTICE.—8. A SPIDER’S COBWEB 
FOR MANY SOULS. AN OPPORTUNE OBSERVATION 
OF GREAT VALUE. 9. THE TALE-BEARER AND THE 
GOOD ANGEL OF THE SUPERIOR.—10. AN OBSER¬ 
VATION IS NOT AN IMPOSITION—11. GENUINE RE¬ 
LIGIOUS SPIRIT. OUR RULE.—12. EXAMPLE OF 
THE SAINTS AND OF JESUS—13. JESUS IN THE 
EUCHARIST, A PERFECT MODEL OF OBEDIENCE. 
OBEY, SUFFER, AND BE SILENT. 


1. Studying the superior’s qualities thereby 
to regulate our actions, exposes us to the danger 
of rendering our obedience void of all personal 
merit. We have already laid down the principle 
so well known to all who have read anything about 
asceticism, namely: the Lord rewards our ac¬ 
tions, not on account of their intrinsic value, 
but for the intention and spirit with which 
we perform them. Therefore our Divine Re- 


186 


STUDYING OUR SUPERIORS 


187 


deemer says: Take heed that you do not your jus¬ 
tice before men, to be seen by them; otherwise you 
shall not have a reward of your Father who is 
in heaven. . . . But when thou doest alms, let not 
tliy left hand know\ uThat thy right hand doth, 
that they alms may be in secret, and thy Father 

who seeth in secret will repay thee . And 

when you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad . For 
they disfigure their faces, that they may appear 
unto men to fast. Amen, I say to you, they have 
received their reward. But thou, when thou fast¬ 
est, annoint thy head, and wash thy face, that thou 
appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father who 
is in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret, 
will repay thee. (1) And he that receiveth you, 
receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth 
him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in 
the name of a prophet shall receive the reward of 
a prophet; and he that receiveth a just man in the 
name of a just man, shall receive the reward of a 
just man. And whosoever shall give to drink to 
one of these little ones a cup of cold water only 
in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he 
shall not lose his reward. (2) 

Therefore, he who obeys only on account of the 
good qualities of the superior, renders his obe¬ 
dience useless for he changes it from divine into 
human, as mr holy Father says. His only reward 

(1) Mat. VI. 1-18. 

(2) Mat. X. 40-42. 




188 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


will be the pleasure he has taken in pleasing a 
man. When he goes to receive the final reward of 
a laborious life he will hear: 4 ‘Thou hast re¬ 
ceived they reward; thou hast obeyed thy superior 
for his good qualities, and hast not taken care 
of obeying God in him. Thy reward therefore 
must be paid by men and not by God, and thou 
hast received it.” 

2. It is evil enough to lose the merit of obe¬ 
dience for having paid attention to the good qual¬ 
ities of the superior; but it would be far worse if 
we tried to find in him qualities that displease us. 
And indeed we shall inevitably find them if we 
look more or less curiously into his manner of 
acting; because it is very difficult for a man to 
appear perfect before those with whom he comes 
in daily contact. Then there naturally arise un¬ 
favorable judgments against the superior, with 
all the inconveniences of rash judgments against 
the neighbor that were mentioned while com¬ 
menting on the third precaution against the world. 
But heie the consequences are much more far- 
reaching, for the unfavorable judgments are 
against one who represents God Himself for us. 
Above all, the sins of the tongue are most dan¬ 
gerous in this case. It is impossible not to speak, 
and not to speak unfavorably of a superior about 
whom frequent rash judgments are entertained; 
then there is besides the great and inevitable dan¬ 
ger of scandalizing those who hear our unchar¬ 
itable and irreverent conversation. 


STUDYING OUR SUPERIORS 


189 


Let ns note liere a fact which, however strange 
it may seem to be and however disgraceful to 
admit, is nevertheless all too common, and each 
can observe it in himself, because scarcely any one 
will be found who willingly or unwillingly has not 
experienced it deep in his soul. We allude to that 
special pleasure felt in thinking unfavorably and 
perhaps even in murmuring a little about persons 
who are in any way superior to us, whether be¬ 
cause they are invested with authority to com¬ 
mand, or because they enjoy a better social posi¬ 
tion ; because they have better qualities of virtue 
or greater talents; or simply because they receive 
from others more attention than we do. It is cer¬ 
tain that to ponder over and perhaps to ridi¬ 
cule the defects of prominent persons, is the de¬ 
light of indelicate characters. Who has not at 
some time or other been guilty on this point? 
This is due to the fact that our pride naturally 
feels humiliated before persons who are superior 
to us; and hence that intimate and secret pleasure 
which the poor human heart feels, when it ob¬ 
serves and can expose some of the defects which 
tend to diminish to a certain extent the good qual¬ 
ities that they possess and which wound our 
pride. 

When we have a great esteem and an affection 
for these people, we feel their faults as if they 
were our own and perhaps even more; but 
when this is wanting, and especially if our 
self-love is wounded by some of their qual- 


190 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


ities, then to reveal their defects and to 
ponder on them gives us pleasure. This is sad, 
indeed, but alas such is the poor human heart; 
and to acknowledge its weakness is the best way 
to correct it. Religious life is not entirely exempt 
from this weakness. If one does not watch his 
heart most carefully about feelings of disaffection 
towards the superior, he may fall even uncon¬ 
sciously into lamentable disorders. 

3. We have seen that the aim of the religious 
life is to attain the spirit of prompt and simple 
submission to the will of God, as manifested to us 
by the rule or by the will of the superior. For 
this virtue which is the most delicate flower of 
charity and which induces God to take His de¬ 
light in the soul that possesses it, can be destroyed 
by a single murmur against the superior who 
on every occasion makes known to us the will 
of God. No poison infiltrated into the blood 
can react more efficaciously than murmuring 
against the superior does, which is launched on 
a soul that lived peacefully and happily confiding 
in and submissive to the superior. Murmuring 
awakens only too quickly the spirit of pride and 
secret rebellion which we all have lurking in the 
innermost recess of our heart. It was in this man¬ 
ner the devil tempted Eve. Our first parents were 
most happy in their simple obedience to God; to 
ruin them the enemy had only to murmur a little 
against God, to make them believe that the Lord 
had imposed His command upon them, because He 


STUDYING OUR SUPERIORS 


191 


was jealous lest they become like to Himself know¬ 
ing good and evil. He has forbidden yon, said the 
crafty serpent, because: God doth know that in 
what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes 
shall he opened; and you shall he as God f s, know¬ 
ing good and evil. (3) 

4. Thus through fatal and calumnious mur¬ 
muring against God, the first and most disastrous 
disobedience came into the world. It is certain 
that nearly all the sins which have followed and 
will follow till the end of time, have as their 
proximate cause some internal or external mur¬ 
mur against the person of a superior. Excepting 
cases of formal contempt which are not frequent 
among good people, whenever the dispositions of 
authority are violated, it is because the person 
who represents the same is considered wanting in 
rectitude or ability. And therefore to observe or 
to call other people’s attention to the lack of 
proper qualities in the superior, is to poison souls, 
to render difficult, if not impossible, the principal 
aim of the religious life. It is, in a word, to incur 
the sin of scandal against which our Lord was so 
inexorable. He says it is impossible that there be 
no scandal, but He adds: Woe to him through 
ufliom it comes. It were better for him that a mill¬ 
stone were hanged about his neck, and he were 
cast into the sea, than that he should scandalize 
one of these little ones. (4) 

(3) Gen. III. 5. 

(4) Luk. XVII. 1, 2. 


192 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


5. Murmuring causes in society the same havoc 
through the corruption of morals, that it effects 
in the cloister to religious perfection. What a tre¬ 
mendous responsibility for him who causes any 
scandal in religious communities. The end of re¬ 
ligious life is a spirit of simple submission 
founded on charity. To cause some souls to lose 
this excellent good, would be an enormous evil; 
and the gravity of this sin is in proportion to the 
damage it entails. There is no doubt that he who 
is accustomed to observe the defects of superiors 
will give scandal in this matter. Therefore our 
holy Father says, that to fix our attention on the 
defects of superiors will cause the total ruin of 
religious perfection and will prevent the religious 
from keeping their vows. He, on the contrary, 
who pays no attention to the person who com¬ 
mands but only to what is commanded, will be free 
from this evil, for he knows that the superior takes 
the place of God and that is enough for him. 

6. An objection might here be raised and it 
seems the importance of the matter calls for an 
answer. All would be well if the superiors were 
angels instead of men. Then we could carry out 
their commands blindly, as we would be sure that 
nothing has been commanded but what is right. 
Our superiors may be mistaken and the virtue of 
obedience cannot oblige us even when what is 
commanded is mere nonsense. Let us consider 
this objection. 


STUDYING OUR SUPERIORS 


193 


Our holy Father prescribes blind obedience in 
this precaution, but he does not ask us to re¬ 
nounce our reason, even when we obey. Here are 
his own words: Take counsel of your reason and 
see what it tells you concerning the ways of God; 
this will profit you more before God than all the 
works done without this attention, and more than 
all the spiritual consolations which you crave . 
Blessed is he who, leaving aside his taste and in¬ 
clination, looks on things conformably to reason 
and justice and puts them into practice. The 
same right reason tells us that we must obey the 
superior whenever it is not evident that he is com¬ 
manding us something that is important against 
justice. If at any time he should command some¬ 
thing evidently grave against the natural law, 
against the law of God or of the Church, it is clear 
that it would not be reasonable to obey. But 
there must be evidence of error on the part of the 
superior and of the gravity of the matter. The 
fact that we think the superior’s orders are not 
prudent, or that it would be better to execute them 
in a different way, will never dispense with the 
obligation of accepting them sincerely. The con¬ 
trary would make the religious as well as social 
life impossible; and authority would become a 
ridiculous figure. 

7. The superior has to consider things from a 
very high vantage point, for he has to look to 
the welfare of all and to see that the spirit of the 
rule is observed. For acting in one way rather 


194 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


than in another, he has his reasons of which the 
subjects are not aware, and he has to attend to 
circumstances which perhaps others have not 
noticed. To conceive an idea, to explain it, to 
devote one’s mind to it, and to attend that others 
also understand and esteem it, is comparatively 
easy in a class-room or a club. But to realize it, 
to make it possible and useful, is not so easy. It 
is not enough to understand well what is the ideal 
good or even what is perfect and beautiful. It is 
necessary to know hie et nunc —here and now— 
as the scholastics used to put it, that is, after con¬ 
sidering all the circumstances what is better and 
useful. Whoever would pretend to do always 
what is ideally most perfect, would certainly end 
doing nothing practical. Therefore the saying 
the best is the enemy of the good. St. Francis de 
Sales said with much wit and saintly malice: There 
are men who, by dint of persistence in living like 
angels, forget to conduct themselves as men. 

Men are generally very complex, and therefore 
he who has to govern them must take many things 
into consideration of which others have not the 
least idea. Eeason in accordance with our 
conscience tells us, that if we do not wish to lose 
ourselves in useless and dangerous cavilling, we 
must accept with submission whatever orders may 
be given and by any superior whatever, when it is 
not evident that they are against the law of God 
or of the Church. 


STUDYING OUR SUPERIORS 


195 


8. Moreover, in the daily life of a religious, 
there are a multitude of things which in them¬ 
selves are indifferent and can he disposed of in a 
thousand various ways without any detriment to 
the religious spirit. These small matters of every¬ 
day life are often the cobwebs that entangle some 
persons and render their lives miserable and that 
of those who come in contact with them. The gift 
of a good ruler consists in keeping his subjects 
from getting entangled in these small matters of 
daily life. But it is impossible for the superior to 
foresee all the little occasions of annoyance among 
his subjects; in fact, such petty offenses have often 
no other origin than the special psychology of some 
and the refined sensitiveness of others. It is to be 
supposed that no superior takes special interest in 
provoking those whom he can content within the 
limits of the law. Occasionally it may be expe¬ 
dient to test some one in particular the better to 
sanctify him. But it would be the greatest mad¬ 
ness to take such a course for a general rule. 

It may happen to any superior however pru¬ 
dent, that some of his dispositions are not re¬ 
ceived in the proper spirit, simply because some 
little circumstance which smarts the sensibility of 
some one has been forgotten. In this case a blind 
obedience with the decided effort to overcome 
one’s feelings is surely the most perfect course. 
But an opportune observation to the superior by 
the same interested person or by another with re¬ 
spect and good will, may often be more pleasing 


196 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


to God and more beneficial to a religious house, 
than a costly obedience. To do this properly means 
sacrifice and supposes much charity. 

9. The spirit of going to the superior and re¬ 
lating to him all that happens in the house is mean 
and detestable. But superiors are not angels. 
They mortify sometimes without knowing it, and 
above all without knowing why. To entertain any 
resentment however small, and above all to carry 
it from heart to heart, and from tongue to tongue, 
is vile and moreover very dangerous. Whoever 
feels any little resentment must try to overcome it 
completely by sincere acts of obedience and love 
of God. A religious who approaches his superior 
in such circumstances and makes him an oppor¬ 
tune, prudent, and humble observation does an 
immense good. Such a person is like an angel 
placed by God at the side of a superior, religious 
or secular; but these good angels do not abound 
on earth as much as is desirable. An observation 
of this kind can relieve many a tenseness, restore 
peace to many souls, and avoid very great evils. 

10. But it must be understood that an observa¬ 
tion is not an admonition, much less an imposi¬ 
tion ; he who makes it in the proper manner has a 
right to a grateful acknowledgment, but he should 
not pretend that his charitable observation be 
taken into consideration. That observation is only 
one reason why the superior should act; but he 
may have other reasons not to take this one into 
consideration. To pretend the contrary would 


STUDYING OUR SUPERIORS 


197 


mean that the subject imposes his own criterion; 
that he is supplanting the judgment of the superior 
by his own; this is always ruinous to authority. 
We must remember that the superior may have 
many reasons unknown to us to sustain his point 
of view, and granted it were right for him to tell 
all the reasons he has for acting, he would surely 
satisfy even the most difficult among his subjects. 
Knowing then that the superior has all the in¬ 
formation that can he given him, the inferior has 
nothing more to do but to fulfil exactly the order 
given. 

11. Apart from the unlikely case when some¬ 
thing evidently sinful has been commanded, or 
from the occasions on which we prudently judge 
an observation to he beneficial, we should not even 
think whether what has been commanded is ex¬ 
pedient or not, and we must expel every insinua¬ 
tion the enemy may suggest concerning the ability 
or rectitude of the person who holds God’s place 
for us. This is the genuine religious spirit. This 
is the spirit and also the letter of our rule, when it 
states: That you may not he judged for contempt, 
hut may merit rather eternal life in reward for 
your obedience. And the same thing our holy 
Father tells us in this precaution: To look thus 
on your superior will bring you great gain and 
profit, and the neglect great loss and ruin. 

We have fully explained these evils, though 
much more could be said. In conclusion, let us 
summarize briefly what has been stated. As often 


198 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


as we pay attention to the qualities of our superior 
to regulate our obedience by them, we approach 
our enemy, the devil, who can harm us at pleasure; 
we lose the merit of our obedience; we expose 
ourselves to certain danger which will entail great 
evils for ourselves and others; and we deviate 
from the positive precepts of our rule and of our 
holy Fathers and from their spirit. 

12. The life and example of the saints should 
act as a stimulus for us, for there never was one 
who was not obedient; and above all the saint of 
saints, our Divine Redeemer, Whose life here on 
earth was the most perfect model of obedience. 
He Himself tells us that His mission in this world 
was to do the will of His father. He obeyed not 
only His father but also His own creatures. He 
who with one hand sustains the world and on 
whom all creatures depend, wished as man to de¬ 
pend in all things on a most delicate Virgin and 
a poor artisan. All that He did in His adorable 
infancy and youth, the holy Gospel comprises in a 
few words, and considering that they are applied 
to the Son of God, they are most ineffable: And he 
was subject to them. (5) He was subject to Mary 
and Joseph. He passed eighteen years obeying 
them, and when He gave Himself up into the hands 
of the executioners, He protested that He did so 
to fulfill the will of His heavenly Father. Not as 
1 will, but as thou wilt, He said to His eternal 


(5) Luke II. 51. 


STUDYING OUR SUPERIORS 


199 


Father, while accepting His bitter passion and 
death in the Garden of Olives. 

13. But the most admirable example of obe¬ 
dience is given hv our dear Lord is in His Euchar¬ 
istic life. Through the holy Mass or through holy 
Communion the religious is brought into daily 
contact with the adorable Heart of the Savior. 
It is not an image of Jesus which is always 
present in the Tabernacle or in our breast after 
holy Communion, it is He Himself personally, the 
self same who was subject to Mary and Joseph, 
who in Judea caressed the children, healed the sick 
and raised the dead; the same who said to all: If 
any man will come after me, let him deny himself, 
and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (6) 
On the day of our religious profession we 
promised to follow Him. Our principal cross is 
continuous obedience; Jesus said to us: I have 
given you an example, that as I have done, so you 
do also. (7) Jesus obeyed always. Perhaps our 
weakness may object, that although He was the 
Son of God, He could have some pleasure in obey¬ 
ing Mary, a mere creature, it is true, yet neverthe¬ 
less most pure and Immaculate; and also in obey¬ 
ing St. Joseph, because he was a man according 
to the heart of God. But Jesus obeyed with pleas¬ 
ure not only Mary and Joseph, but He continues 

(6) Luke IX. 23. 

(7) John XIII. 15. 


200 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

to obey in the Tabernacle all priests, good and bad, 
worthy and unworthy. 

A few minutes of sincere prayer before the Most 
Holy Sacrament ought to cure radically any temp¬ 
tation against obedience. If at any time it should 
become difficult on account of the qualities of our 
Superior, let us go before the Tabernacle whence 
Jesus will speak to our soul: My child, do not 
complain, do not be uneasy. Learn of me the 
life of absolute subjection, of silence, of abnega¬ 
tion. Do the character and the manners of your 
Superior displease you, my poor child? Do you 
think that all those who handle me in my Euchar¬ 
istic life are pleasing to me? What would become 
of the world if in this Sacrament I obeyed good 
priests only? How few souls would enjoy my 
presence if they were allowed to take me only 
to wholly pure souls? Neither you, my friends, 
who promised to follow me and who so many 
times protested that you love me, are willing to 
do anything for me, when I do so much for you 
and for all in the Eucharist. Rise, faint-hearted 
man; do not drag your cross which will secure a 
reward exceedingly great. What I am doing here 
in nay Eucharistic life for you, do you also for 
love of me. Obey, suffer, be silent according to 
the example I am giving you in the Eucharist. 

Here in the Tabernacle is the most perfect ideal 
of the religious life. The Eucharistic life of our 
Divine Redeemer is a life of perfect obedience, of 
retirement, of silence, and of sacrifice. Happy 


STUDYING OUR SUPERIORS 


201 


the soul who frequently, and especially in critical 
moments, comes to this august school to learn the 
lesson of fortitude. With the grace of God and 
perseverence his obedience will be like that of our 
Lord in this Sacrament. Then all the austerities 
of religious life will seem easy. You will be free 
from the deceits of the enemy, and by the most 
common exercises of the religious life you will 
merit a most exalted glory in heaven. 


CHAPTER XIV 


Sixth Precaution and the Third against the 
Devil—Humility 

1. WORDS OP ST. JOHN OP THE CROSS.—2. WHAT IS 
BEST KNOWN IS GENERALLY PRACTISED WORST. 
FALSE CONCEPTION OF HUMILITY.—3. FOR ST. 
JOHN OF THE CROSS HUMILITY IS THE DAUGHTER 
OF LOVE AND LIGHT; FOR ST. TERESA IT IS OF 
TRUTH. NOTABLE PASSAGE OF ST. JOHN.—4. LOVE 
NEVER SAYS ENOUGH.—5. A LEARNED AND PURE 
PERSON THINKS HIS WORKS UNWORTHY OF SUCH 
A GREAT -LORD. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF 
TRUE HUMILITY.—6. WORDS OF ST. TERESA; HU¬ 
MILITY IS TRUTH. A ROOM WHERE MUCH LIGHT 
ENTERS. THERE IS NO HUMILITY WITHOUT 
MUCH LIGHT.—7. NOT ALL IS BAD IN US. HU¬ 
MILITY DOES NOT DISAVOW OUR OWN PERFEC¬ 
TIONS. WORDS OF ST. TERESA. HUMILITY TAKES 
A MAN AS HE IS.—8. OUR HOLY FATHER AND OUR 
PIOLY MOTHER IN PERFECT HARMONY. THEY 
ARE THE GREAT MASTERS OF HUMILITY.—9. ST. 
TERESA MUST BE UNDERSTOOD. ERROR IS THE 
MASK OF TRUTH, WHAT IT IS TO WALK IN TRUTH. 
TO KNOW HOW TO USE THE GIFTS OF GOD—10. 
SELF-LOVE EXAGGERATES OUR GOOD QUALITIES 
AND LESSENS OUR DEFECTS. EACH VIRTUE CAR¬ 
RIES WITH IT A RESPONSIBILITY.—11. EVERYTHING 
FOR THE GOOD OF ALL. NOTHING TO WOUND 
ANYONE.—12. VANITY SUPPOSES SOME DEFECT IN 
THE MIND OR IN THE HEART.—13. TO THE VAIN 
THE LORD DENIES A MULTITUDE OF GIFTS FOR 
THEIR OWN GOOD. 

1. The third precaution directed against the 
devil is: You must try to humble yourself always 
and with all your heart in thoughts, words, and 


202 


HUMILITY 


203 


deeds, taking more pleasure in another’s welfare 
than in your own, wishing him to he preferred to 
you in all things, and this with a sincere heart. 
In this way you will convert the evil into good, 
you will cast the devil far from you and you will 
possess joy in your heart. Try to exercise this 
more towards those who are less agreeable to you. 
Know that, if you do not practise this, you will 
never attain to true charity, nor make progress 
in it. Be always more willing to receive instruc¬ 
tion from any one, than to give it to the least of 
your brethren. 

2. It seems at first sight that this precaution 
does not require any commentary, inasmuch as 
its text is plain enough, and the subject of it is a 
virtue well known, not only to religious persons, 
but also to any one conversant with religious 
treatises. Moreover, so much and so well has 
been written on humility and on the opposite vice, 
that it would be ridiculous to pretend to write 
something that has not already been said or writ¬ 
ten by the great masters. Notwithstanding this, 
it may be quite expedient to insist on the matter 
of this precaution without explaining it; for very 
often what is best known is least understood, and 
consequently less attended to. 

And this is what happens with humility. In our 
ascetic and pious books there is no word more 
frequently used; but it is not rash to say that 
there is no other word less understood by the 
greater part of those who pronounce the same. 


204 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


For many pious persons and even for many of 
those who are charged with education, humility is 
nothing else than a constant effort to suppress 
all thoughts and words that are favorable to us, 
no matter how much they are at variance with 
the reality. If we have succeeded in something, 
however well it was done, we believe we must 
think and say that we have done it very badly. 
Though we may have some good qualities or some 
talent—there is nobody who has none—we must 
think and say that we have no virtue or talent. 
As it is far easier to think abjectly than to feel 
so, we have contracted the habit of frequently 
using the word humility and of forgetting its gen¬ 
uine meaning. Hence the word which should ex¬ 
press the virtue so dear to our Lord Jesus Christ, 
and which is characteristic of all really great 
persons, has become for many people nothing 
more than a mean hypocrisy, repugnant to cor¬ 
rect and sincere men. 

As they understand humility, so they believe 
that they must impose it upon others. We know 
a good man but a bad educator, who censured 
severely and even unjustly a certain literary work 
of one of his subordinates, which work according 
to public opinion was well done. This man, after 
having mortified his disciple, believing that he 
had accomplished a duty of his conscience, said: 
Young people must be treated thus that they may 
preserve the spirit of humility. It is true that 
some isolated passages in the lives of the saints 


HUMILITY 


205 


will favor this poor and mistaken idea of humil¬ 
ity, as well as this disastrous method of inculcat¬ 
ing it. But it is most certain that genuine humil¬ 
ity has nothing to do with the formalism of cow¬ 
ardly men, nor have the saints ever understood it 
so; surely the two great Doctors of Carmel have 
not. - 

3. According to our holy Father, humility is 
the first born child of love and light; according to 
our holy Mother it is of truth. It is plain that 
the teaching of both in this matter, as well as in 
others, is identical. Here are the two principal 
passages in which these great saints and masters 
explain the origin and the nature of humility. Our 
holy Father, speaking of a person who has reached 
the third degree of love of God, says: On this step 
the soul looks on great things as little, on many as 
few, its long service as short, by reason of the 
fire of love which is burning. Here the soul, be¬ 
cause of the great love it has for God, is in great 
pain on account of the scantiness of its service; 
if it could laivfully die for Him a thousand times 
it would be comforted. It looks upon itself, there¬ 
fore, as unprofitable in all it does and on its life 
as worthless. Another most wonderful effect is 
that it looks upon itself as being in truth the very 
worst of all, because its love continues to show it 
ivhat is due to God; and then, because it labors 
much in the service of God and sees how faulty and 
imperfect are its works, it is ashamed and dis¬ 
tressed, seeing that the service it renders to God, 


206 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

who is so high, is so exceedingly mean . On this 
third step the soul is very far from giving way 
to vain glory or presumption, or from condemn¬ 
ing others. These anxious effects and many others 
of the same hind are wrought in the soul by this 
third degree of love. (1) From this beautiful 
passage of the Mystical Doctor and with nearly 
the same words we can formulate these two prin¬ 
ciples: 1. On account of the great love with 
which the soul is burning, it looks upon itself as 
unprofitable in all it does. 2. As love continues 
to show it what is due to God it recognizes all its 
works to he very unworthy of so great a Lord. 

4. To every soul that has been touched by the 
flame of divine love, whatever it does for God 
seems little, and so it considers itself much in¬ 
debted to God. This is a very natural effect of 
perfect love, for what true lover has been satisfied 
until he has given his very life for the object of 
his love? Nobody can love, nor even understand 
what love is, if he is incapable of comprehending 
that it is happiness and pleasure for the lover to 
die for the object of his lope. This has been said 
by a Christian philosopher, and this is understood 
by every person gifted with a noble heart and 
capable of thought. All the world knows this 
proverb so common and so profound: Love never 
says enough. It will say less when its object is 
God, for God is the only adequate object of our 
love. 


(1) II Dark Night XIX. 


HUMILITY 


207 


5. It is also clear that the more a man loves 
God, the better he knows Him; and that the more 
he knows God, the better he will understand what 
infinite sanctity, eternal power, immense good¬ 
ness, and inexhaustible mercy require from crea¬ 
tures. Then turning his eyes on himself and on 
his works, he finds them very poor even those 
that to, others seem very good, and perhaps they 
are so in themselves; but to him who regards 
them not as they are in themselves but in con¬ 
trast with God, they seem very deficient and very 
unworthy of such a great Lord. From this per¬ 
fect love and from this clear knowledge of God 
spring feelings of self-contempt before God; such 
a person has no esteem for himself and for his 
works. He lives dissatisfied with himself, because 
he sees that he cannot do for God what his love 
requires of him and he cannot be satisfied with 
his work§, however many and great they may be, 
because he knows well how little they are worth in 
comparison with God’s infinite majesty and his 
obligations to Him. 

These noble sentiments create in the soul a true 
and genuine humility. To understand this well 
and to feel it, to be absolutely convinced of it, 
and to live in accordance with this conviction is to 
be truly humble of heart and of mind, is to under¬ 
stand that humility is to live a humble life. To 
understand anything else when there is question 
of humility, is to use a word without knowing its 


208 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


meaning, is to ridicule it, is to deceive one’s self 
and others. 

Humility then according to our Father St. 
John of the Cross, is the child of divine love, of 
that holy love which, when it reaches a certain 
degree, cannot be satisfied with the little man is 
able to do for God. It is a child of light, of that 
light which permits us to have a glimpse of what 
He is and what we are, to some extent of what He 
is worthy, of how much we owe Him, and of how 
little we do for Him. 

6. The teaching of our holy Mother St. Teresa 
of Jesus is not different from this doctrine. In 
the matter of humility she agrees perfectly with 
her disciple and master, St. John of the Cross. 
Her teaching is perhaps not so deep and method¬ 
ical, for she explains it in her own inimitable and 
charming way, where she has no rival. Here are 
her own words: Once I was considering why our 
Lord was so fond of this virtue of humility, and 
this was suddenly placed before me without any 
consideration . It is because God is the highest 
truth, and humility is walking in truth. It is a 
great truth to know that we have no good of our¬ 
selves, only misery and nothingness; he who does 
not understand this, is in the wrong way. He who 
understands it best, pleases infinite Truth most, 
because he walks in the way of truth. (2) 


(2) Mansion X. 



HUMILITY 


209 


Before commenting on this passage, let us con¬ 
sider another, not so well known but not less 
beautiful—the one complements the other. Speak¬ 
ing of the soul that has reached a certain degree 
of prayer, our holy Mother says: The soul looks 
upon itself as most unworthy, for in a room into 
'which the sunlight enters strongly, not a cobweb 
can be hid; it sees its own misery. Self conceit is 
so far away that it seems as if it never could have 
had any, for now it beholds how very little it could 
do. ... It sees that it has deserved hell, and its 
punishment is bliss. (3) There was no cowardice 
or hypocrisy in the ascetic St. Teresa of Jesus. 
She merely wants humility to have for its basis 
a well-founded truth. According to this great 
saint, for a soul to be really humble, it is neces¬ 
sary that much light enter into it; the more light 
the better, for then those deep and mysterious 
recesses of our soul will be well known; all the 
folds of the heart will be discovered; and we shall 
surely find many reasons to feel ourselves pro¬ 
foundly humbled before God and before our own 
selves. We are full of defects. This we know, we 
admit it; but as we say it through mere routine, 
our ideas are neither very clear nor very fixed. 
And therefore this conviction helps little to form 
our practical conscience, and exercises but little 
influence in the direction of our daily life. 


(3) Life XIX. 


210 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


It is certain that the clearer our understanding 
is and the more fixed and penetrating our look 
towards the center of our soul, the greater and the 
more various will be the imperfections we shall 
notice in ourselves. We have many; and to find 
them out it is enough to enter the light and look; 
for according to this beautiful phrase of St. Te¬ 
resa, in a room into which the sunlight enters 
strongly, not a cobweb can be hid. And we may 
be very sure that the deeper we go into our self- 
knowledge with a corresponding assistance of 
grace and of faith we shall be able to help our¬ 
selves, and consequently our humility will be 
founded on more solid reasons. 

7. But not all in us is bad. Let us examine 
ourselves attentively and we shall find good qual¬ 
ities of nature and of grace. True humility does 
not ask us to ignore them. In this point also the 
teaching of St. Teresa is admirable: Let him re¬ 
gard certain hinds of humility which exist, and of 
which I mean to speak. Some think it humility not 
to believe that God is bestowing His gifts upon 
them. Let us clearly understand this, and that it 
is perfectly clear God bestows His gifts without 
any merit whatever on our part; and let us be 
grateful to His Majesty for them; for if we do not 
recognize the gifts received at His hands, we shall 
never be moved to love Him. It is a most certain 
truth, that the richer we see ourselves to be, con¬ 
fessing at the same time our poverty, the greater 
will be our progress, and the more real our hum 'll - 


HUMILITY 


211 


ity. It it a most evident truth, that our love for a 
person is greater, the more distinctly we remem¬ 
ber the good he has done us. . . . Here then is a 
precious pearl which, when we remember that it 
is given us, and we have it in our possession, pow¬ 
erfully invites us to love. All this is the fruit of 
prayer founded on humility... .W e must renew 
our strength to serve Him, and strive not to be 
ungrateful, because it is on this condition that our 
Lord dispenses His treasures; for if we do not 
make good use of them, and of the high state to 
which He raises us, He will return and take them 
from us and we shall be poorer than ever. His 
majesty will give the pearls to him who shall 
bring them forth and employ them usefully for 
himself and others. (4) 

According to this admirable teaching true hu¬ 
mility does not disavow anything that is in us, 
whether good or evil. It takes us as we are. It 
requires only light, much light, to know ourselves, 
and a great sincerity to esteem ourselves accord¬ 
ingly. The more we know ourselves, the more 
solid and profound will be our humility. Our sight, 
assisted by optical instruments, can discover many 
microbes in a glass of water which seemed to be 
very clear; in a point of the sky apparently 
free and solitary, we shall see thousands of 
stars of great magnitude and beauty. The same 
happens to our heart and mind; we have many 


(4) Life x. 


212 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


and great defects, but we are not without some 
good qualities. The humility that commands us 
to study and find out our deficiencies, does not for¬ 
bid us to recognize and appreciate our good qual¬ 
ities in their just estimation. Humility does not 
demand us to ignore nor even to belittle our good 
qualities of whatever order they may be, physical 
or moral, natural or supernatural. What genuine 
humility does demand is that we should under¬ 
stand them well, that we should know how to 
esteem them at their just value, that we should 
recognize the true Author from whom we receive 
them, and the obligations they impose on us; and 
finally that we should remember that whatever our 
perfections or good qualities may be, we hold 
these treasures in earthen vessels which can be 
broken by the least carelessness; and that we walk 
on very dangerous roads where at any moment we 
may be attacked and despoiled of all our treas¬ 
ures. All this was expressed by our holy Mother 
in these apparently simple, but most profound, 
words: Humility is walking in truth. 

8. It is evident that the holy Doctor of Avila 
considered humility as the legitimate daughter of 
truth, just as the holy Hermit of Duruelo consid¬ 
ered humility the genuine daughter of love. 
But St. John of the Cross practically says the 
same as St. Teresa. Because love, whose first 
fruit is profound humility of soul is, as he tells 
us, love of God, which when it becomes perfect, 
illumines the mind and purifies the heart of man, 


HUMILITY 


213 


that he may understand well what God is and 
what man is, what God has done for us, and what 
we in turn owe Him. Both of these saints there¬ 
fore agree in considering humility as an effect, 
which naturally produces in the mind and heart 
of man the perfect knowledge of God and of man, 
and of their mutual relations. It is not known 
whether anybody surpassed or even equaled our 
two holy Reformers in writing anything so pro¬ 
found and exact, and at the same time so beau¬ 
tiful and well adapted to render this virtue dear 
to our good Lord and the saints and amiable to 
every righteous man. Humility is walking in 
truth. These words contain all that can be said 
of humility. It suffices to understand well this 
admirable definition. 

9. But it is necessary to understand it well, 
for a misunderstanding in this important matter 
would be very detrimental to many souls. There 
is nothing more pernicious than an excellent defi¬ 
nition badly understood or a great truth only 
partly known. There is no danger in an error 
that contains no truth, but it becomes very dan¬ 
gerous when it retains a partial truth. Absolute 
falsehood does not exist, and if it were possible 
and could present itself as such, it could cause no 
harm, for every mind would reject it at once. 
Every error is a mask of some truth; and it is 
accepted only when it is mistaken for some truth. 
It is of course the more dangerous the more im¬ 
portant the truth which it tries to resemble. 


214 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


That humility is truth is a most beautiful 
thought, which puts to flight the false humility of 
ignorant people, the fears of the cowardly, and all 
the deceits of the insincere. But this excellent 
principle of the Doctor of Avila should not be 
taken as their motto by light minds, whose one 
desire is to satisfy their ostentation and vanity. 
Those persons so vain and so void of virtue and 
even of common sense, those who are so anxious 
to win the admiration of others for every little 
gift God has granted them, they certainly cannot 
cite in their favor the authority of St. Teresa. 
There is nothing more repugnant to the simple 
and upright spirit of our holy Mother than this 
stupid presumption, so common even among per¬ 
sons considered religious. 

If any one really possesses some good qual¬ 
ities, humility does not demand him to disavow 
them, and still less to deny them. Surely St. 
Thomas Aquinas, wise and humble as he was, 
would never say or think that in Philosophy and 
Theology he knew less than the cook of his mon¬ 
astery. What God and men require of us is that 
we appreciate all the gifts of God as given us, and 
that we make good use of them for the glory of 
God and the benefit of our neighbor. 

10. Whatever good qualities we may possess, 
whether physical or moral, material or spiritual, 
of nature or of grace, we possess them, not as 
our own acquisition, but as held by us in trust 
for God, to whom at the end of life we must 


HUMILITY 


215 


render a detailed account of all, of the little as 
well as of the great. We know God wants nothing 
idle in His creation or in His creatures, and we 
know also how the wicked and slothful servant 
was treated by his master. (5) Each gift there¬ 
fore carries with it a responsibility. The pru¬ 
dent and the wise endeavor to render a good ac¬ 
count of their talents. Whereas the foolish and 
slothful squander the little they have received, 
displaying or hiding it like the servant in the 
Gospel. 

11. The same harmony and dependence on 
each other that we find in the physical world God 
wants to find among men in the moral world. And 
because everything enters in this universal con¬ 
cert, God does not hate any of His creatures. 
Therefore He has commanded us to love one an¬ 
other as children of the same Father and to do 
to others whatsoever we would that men should 
do to us. (6) Therefore also whatever gifts He 
has given us He bestowed them for the purpose 
of helping our brethren: Let no man therefore 
glory in men. For all things are yours, whether 
it be Paul, or Apollo, or Cephas, or the world, or 
life, or death, or things present, or things to come; 
for all are yours; and you are Christ’s; and 
Christ is God’s. (7) Freely have you received, 


(5) Matt. XXV. 26. 

(6) Matt. VII. 12. 

(7) I Cor. III. 21, 23. 


216 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


freely give. (8) says the Divine Redeemer, and 
St. Paul adds: I endure all things for the sake 
of the elect. (9) 1 

Consequently each of the gifts we have re¬ 
ceived, whether of nature or of grace, sup¬ 
poses so many responsibilities before Divine 
Providence, who does nothing and grants 
nothing without some purpose; we have, more¬ 
over, many other titles of obligation towards 
God, ourselves, and our brethren. Jesus Christ 
therefore said: When you shall have done all 
these things that are commanded you f say: We 
are unprofitable servants: we have done that 
which ive ought to do. (10) To understand this 
perfectly and to act accordingly both in public 
and in private life, is to walk in truth. And this 
and only this is being really humble. 

12. Thus must humility he understood accord¬ 
ing to the spirit of St. Teresa and of St. John of 
the Cross; no pusillanimity or vanity, no repulsive 
dissembling, no ridiculous ostentation is pleasing 
to them. Sincerity always and in all things, with 
much light in the mind and fire of charity in the 
heart; this is what they always practised and 
taught their children, that through this light and 
heat genuine humility may produce its fruits! 

Consequently, according to the great Masters 
of Carmel, vanity and pride always suppose some 

(8) Matt. X. 8. 

(9) 2 Tim. II. 10. 

(10) Luke XVII. 10. 


HUMILITY 


217 


defect in the mind and in the heart. Because 
when there is much love of God and of the neigh¬ 
bor in the heart, an abundance of light in the 
mind, and much uprightness in the spirit, man 
instead of vainly glorifying himself, admiring the 
little good he possesses, and wishing that others 
also should admire it, is solicitous in seeing what 
he can do for the glory of God or the benefit of his 
neighbor, and makes every effort to correct his 
defects and to foster his virtues. 

13. Our holy Mother’s words on this matter 
are worthy of all our attention: The foundation of 
this edifice is humility; and if this does not truly 
exist; even for your oum good the Lord will not 
raise you very high, lest you tumble to the ground. 
Therefore, sister, in order to lay a good foun¬ 
dation, try to be the least of all, and everybody f s 
slave; consider how you can give them pleasure 
and serve them; for what you do in this way is 
really more for yourself than for others, since you 
are laying such solid stones in the foundation that 
your castle may not fall. (11) 

In accordance with the admirable teaching of 
our holy Mother, it is a particular benefit of Di¬ 
vine Goodness not to grant a multitude of gifts 
to those who have not a sufficiently solid founda¬ 
tion of humility to sustain them and to bring 
forth worthy fruits. Ah! How many gifts of all 


(11) Mansion VII. 


218 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


kinds are detained in the hands of God by our 
spirit of pride and vanity! 

Our holy Mother, in her “Way of Perfection,” 
which is her really ascetic work, says that all re¬ 
ligious perfection consists in three things: The 
one is love for one another; the other detachment 
from all created things; and the third, true hu¬ 
mility, which, though 1 give it last, is the principal 
and embraces all. (12) 

Our holy Father tells us that this spirit and 
these feelings of a humble soul are most directly 
opposed to the spirit of the devil. But this will 
form the subject-matter of the next chapter. 


(12) Way of Perfection IV. 


CHAPTER XV 

Humility and Pride 


i. how humility is directly opposed to the 

DIABOLICAL SPIRIT.—2. HOW MUCH GOD LOVES THE 
HUMBLE.—3. HUMILITY THE FOUNDATION OF 
GREATNESS. TEACHING OF THE DIVINE MASTER 
ON HUMILITY.—4. THE WHOLE LIFE AND DOC¬ 
TRINE OF JESUS A CANTICLE OF HUMILITY—5. GOD 
TAKES PLEASURE IN HUMBLING THE PROUD AND 
CASTING THEM ASIDE.—6. THE PROUD SEEK TO 
APPROPRIATE THE GLORY DUE TO GOD ALONE.— 
7. PRIDE, THE MOST DEEPLY ROOTED CAPITAL SIN, 
A DEVIATION OF A HOLY ASPIRATION.—8. SELF- 
LOVE NOT BAD IN ITSELF, BUT ONLY IN ITS WAYS 
AND MEANS. IS A SURE ROAD TO GREATNESS—9. 
WORDS OF ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS.—10. PRIDE 
THE FATHER OF ENVY. IT DESTROYS SOULS.—11. 
THE WICKED SPIRIT FOSTERS IT. VERY COMMON 
EVIL. 


1. Our holy Father tells us that this precau¬ 
tion in which he recommends humility, is directly 
opposed to the devil. The last two precautions are 
also opposed to him, but humility is more directly 
so and for various reasons. First of all humility, 
as was said in the previous chapter, is inseparable 
from truth. The devil, as our Lord warns us, is 
the strong enemy of truth; whenever he speaks, he 
lies. For he is a liar , and the father thereof. (1) 
Moreover, truth presupposes a certain disaffec- 


(1) John VIII. 44. 


219 


220 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


tion of self and some perfection in the love of 
God, in such a manner that humility increases in 
proportion as self-contempt and the love of God 
increase. Therefore, the same holy Father adds: 
When you have perfectly detached your heart 
from all things, which is the summit of humility, 
then the union of the soul with God will he accom¬ 
plished. 

The evil spirit can not love God nor anybody 
else; St. Thomas says: They cannot have any 
love even for one another. (2) Finally, the humble 
forgetting themselves rejoice at the glory of God 
and the good of their neighbor, and strive with 
all their might to promote the common welfare 
and the divine glory. The spirit of Satan, as the 
Angelic Doctor explains, is directly opposed to 
this: he has no other and cannot have properly 
speaking more than two sins, pride and envy; 
both of which are directly opposed to the effects 
of humility in the soul, to the disaffection of self 
and complacency in the glory of God and the wel¬ 
fare of the neighbor: The evil spirits sinned by 
coveting a singular excellence, and this ceases to 
he singular when some other excellence is pres¬ 
ent. Consequently, after the sin of pride in the 
wicked spirits, there followed the sin of envy, 
which causes them to grieve over the welfare of 
men and also over the Divine excellence. (3) 

(2) I P. Q. 109, a. 2. a. II. 

(3) I Q. 63, a. 2. 


HUMILITY AND PRIDE 


221 


Therefore, humility is directly opposed to the 
evil spirit, both as regards the principle on which 
it is founded and the effects it produces in the 
soul. This is certainly the reason why Holy 
Scripture shows how detestable pride is and so 
strongly recommends humility. 

2. The humble are always depicted in Holy 
Scripture as the dearest to God: The Lord is 
high above all nations; and His glory above the 
heavens. Who is the Lord our God, who dwelleth 
on high; and looketh down on the low things in 
heaven and on earth? (4) The High and the 

Eminent that inhabited eternity, dwelleth with 
the contrite and humble spirit, (5) says Isaias 
the Prophet; and the same prophet again: Thus 
saith the Lord, Heaven is my throne, and the 
earth my footstool. ... to whom shall I respect, 
but to him that is poor and little, and of a con¬ 
trite spirit. (6) David assures us that the Lord 
never despises a contrite and humble heart, (7) 
and God Himself tells us that He spoke with His 
servant Moses heart to heart: I speak to him 
mouth to mouth, and plainly, and not by riddles 
and figures doth he see the Lord, and in a few 
verses before the Scripture remarks that: Moses 
was a man exceedingly meek above all men that 
dwelleth upon earth. (8) 

(4) Ps. CXII. 4, 6. 

(5) Is. LVII. 15. 

(6) Is. LXVI. 1-2. 

(7) Ps. D. 19. 

(8) Num. XII. 3. 


222 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


3. According to the Wise Man humility is the 
necessary foundation for all solid and durable 
greatness; and therefore he warns us: The 
greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all 
things, and thou shall find grace before God; for 
great is the power of God alone, and He is honored 
by the humble. (9) Before a man is exalted, he 
is humbled. (10) Since humble souls alone can 
enter into heaven it is necessary that humility 
always precede the glory: Humility goeth before 
glory. (11) When the apostles asked our Lord 
who would be the greater in the kingdom of God, 
the Divine Redeemer took a child and set him in 
the midst of them, and said: Whosoever shall 
humble himself as this little child, he is the 
greater in the kingdom of heaven. (12) And 
whosoever shalt exalt himself shall be humbled; 
and he that shall humble himself shall be 
exalted. (13) 

How many times have we not heard these words 
of our Savior, and notwithstanding, how hard do 
we find it to make them the guiding principle 
of our life! We could multiply by hundreds the 
passages of Holy Scripture that eulogize humility 
and meekness. Let us add but one more, full of 
beauty and consolation; Learn of me, because I 


(9) Ec. III. 20-21. 

(10) Prov. XVII. 12. 

(11) Prov. XV. 33. 

(12) Matt. XVIII. 4. 

(13) Matt. XVIII. 12. 


HUMILITY AND PRIDE 


223 


am meek and humble of heart; and you shall find 
rest to your souls. (14) Our Lord knew well how 
much it would cost us to imitate this charming 
virtue, and for this reason He recommends it with 
so much insistence. He knew that we are ex¬ 
cessively jealous of our dignity and honor, that a 
trifle can hurt and irritate us, and that we think 
we must take good care that nobody advance a 
step before us. To cure us of this excessive sus¬ 
ceptibility, the meek and lowly Master teaches us: 
The disciple is not above the master, nor the ser¬ 
vant above his lord. (15) You call me Master 
and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. (16) 
Learn of me, not my infinite wisdom, not the 
power to subject the demons, to raise the dead, 
to command the elements; but learn the humility 
and meekness of my heart. 7 have given you an 
example, that as I have done to you, so you do 
also. (17) And happy and blessed if you know 
these things and do them. (18) 

4. The divine Master spoke these words in 
His last sermon, His farewell address to His dis¬ 
ciples. He finished His preaching as He com¬ 
menced it. On the mountain of the Beatitudes 
He began with that doctrine so new, so singular 
and sublime, calling blessed the peaceful, the 

(14) Matt. XI. 29. 

(15) Matt. X. 24. 

(16) John XIII. 13. 

(17) John XIII. 15. 

(18) John XIII. 17. 


224 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

clean, and the meek of heart, (19) and He takes 
leave of the world, proclaiming those also blessed 
who comprehend and practise his lesson of humil¬ 
ity and meekness. The whole doctrine of Christ 
was a canticle of humility and meekness, and His 
life was the most perfect model of these virtues. 
All this was necessary that some chosen souls 
might imitate this spirit of humility and meek¬ 
ness, which is the spirit of Jesus and so contrary 
to the spirit of the world. 

5. It is evident that the more pleasing holy 
obedience is to God, the more hateful must be the 
contrary vice of pride. The holy Scripture points 
out several examples of insolence and pride, and 
then compares them with the downfall and the 
humiliation that followed. Of King Antiochus, a 
perfect model of pride, it says: He that seemed 
to himself to command even the waves of the sea, 
being proud above the condition of man, and to 
weigh the heights of the mountains in a balance, 
now being cast down to the ground, was carried in 
a litter, bearing witness to the manifest power of 
God in himself. (20) Sennacherib is another in¬ 
stance of pride. He threatened the chosen people 
, with destruction, saying: 1 have gone up to the 
height of the mountains, to the top of Libanus, and 
have cut down its tall cedars, and its choice fir 
trees. I have entered into the furthest part thereof, 


(19) Matt. III. 4. 

(20) II Mach. IX. 8. 


HUMILITY AND PRIDE 


225 


and the forest of its Carmel . But the Lord sent 
him this message by the Prophet Isaias: Thy 
pride hath come up to my ears; therefore I wiM 
put a ring in thy nose, and a bit between thy lips, 
and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou 
earnest. (21) Then the Lord sent His angel and 
in one night destroyed the powerful army of the 
Assyrians. (22) Thy arrogancy hath deceived 
thee, and the pride of thy heart. But though thou 
shouldst make thy nest as high as an eagle, I will 
bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord. (23) 

The Lord cannot tolerate the proud. God resist- 
eth the proud. He turns them away as we turn our 
eyes from a loathsome object. It is not strange 
that pride is so repugnant to the Lord. He is in¬ 
finite justice and goodness and takes pleasure in 
communicating His riches and grace to His angels 
and to men of good will, but He cannot give away 
His glory to any one; for if He were deprived of 
His glory, He would cease to be God; I the Lord; 
this is my name; I will not give my glory to an¬ 
other. (24) 

6. The sin of pride consists in the desire of 
appropriating the glory due to God alone. Be¬ 
hold why God despises the proud and is pleased 
with the humble. Therefore Divine Providence 
justly and wisely permits that loftiness of mind 


(21) 4 Kings XIX. 23, 28. 

(22) 4 Kings XIX. 35. 

(23) Jer. XDIX. 16. 

(24) Is. XLII. 8. 


226 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


and arrogance of heart should often be suc¬ 
ceeded in this life by most bitter deceptions and 
humiliating misfortunes; whereas sincere humility 
is generally followed by legitimate glory and gen¬ 
uine esteem. Where pride is, there also shall be 
reproach, says Solomon; and David adds: 1 have 
seen the wicked highly exalted, and lifted up like 
the cedars of Libanus; and 1 passed by, and lo, he 
was not; and I sought him and his place was not 
found. (25) 


7. Pride, the first capital sin, has most deeply 
corrupted human nature and caused the greatest 
ruin in souls. Pride in its final analysis is noth¬ 
ing else than the turning aside of a profound and 
wholesome aspiration of the human spirit. It 
does not destroy, but it introduces a certain aber¬ 
ration into the natural desire existing in every 
man of being esteemed and honored. This desire 
is certainly not bad in itself. Did not God create 
man to be king? Did He not Himself sav to our 
first parents: Fill the earth, and subdue it, and 
rule oyer the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of 
the air . (26) Was it not the same Creator who 
placed in our spirit the never hushed aspiration 
or greatness, and the never mitigated craving for 
ascending higher and higher? 

Pride is self-love seeking inordinately its own 
excellence. But self-love is not bad, either in its 


(25) P S . XXXVI. 35 aft 


HUMILITY AND PRIDE 


227 


origin or in its end, for God Himself placed it in 
the human heart; nor is it bad in its aim; for if 
it seeks its own excellence, we know that God has 
not created us for infamy but for glory. We are 
confident, said St. Paul, and have a good ivill to he 
absent rather from the body, and to be present 
with the Lord. (27) And at the last supper our 
Lord grayed His eternal Father in reward for His 
passion: Father, I will that where I am, they also 
whom thou hast given me may be with me. (28) 

8. The evil of self-love is not that man loves 
himself and seeks his own excellence, but it con¬ 
sists rather in the manner in which he loves self 
and in the means he uses to aspire to a superior 
condition in life. St. Thomas Aquinas has the fol¬ 
lowing profound sentence: Nobody has affection 
to anything which in some way is not suited to 
his nature . But there can be no sin when anyone 
is incited to good of the spiritual order; unless in 
such affection the rule of the superior be not kept. 
Such is precisely the sin of pride, not to be subject 
to a superior where subjection is due. (29) 

Our first parents did not sin by wishing to be 
like unto God, for they were made to the image 
and likeness of God, but because they wished to 
enjoy the prerogative of semi-gods before the 
time; and thus they broke the precept given them 
by'God. And when we commit the sin of pride, 


127) 2 Cor. V. 8. 

(28) John XVII. 24. 

(29) 1 P. Q. LXII. I. a. 2. 


228 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


it is not because we esteem our excellence, but 
because we seek it where it is not, or we pretend 
to acquire it by means not proper nor intended 
by God for this end. Our excellence is in God 
alone: He that glorieth, may glory in the 
Lord, (30) says St. Paul; and again: Let no man 
therefore glory in men. (31) And the only road 
to this sublime excellence, is the faithful fulfil¬ 
ment of the law in the spirit of humility and meek¬ 
ness : But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the com¬ 
mandments, (32) And Amen 1 say to you, unless 
you he converted, and become as little children, 
you shall not enter into the kingdom of God. (33) 
This is the clear and positive sentence of Him 
who cannot deceive nor be deceived; to give it a 
different meaning would be to deceive ourselves. 

9. This is also the teaching of St. John of the 
Cross: When God loves the soul, it is not on ac¬ 
count of its greatness, hut on account of the great¬ 
ness of its self-contempt and humility. (34) 
Hence the more one belittles himself and acknowl¬ 
edges himself as nothing before God, the more 
God lifts him up, and vice versa. The Almighty is 
pleased in humbling those who exalt themselves 
unjustly. And why should man exalt himself? 
If there is any good in him, it is from God: Who 

(30) 1 Cor. I. 31. 

(31) 1 Cor. III. 21. 

(32) Matt. XIX. 17. 

(33) Matt. XVIII. 3. 

(34) Max. 326. 


HUMILITY AND PRIDE 


229 


distinguished thee? What hast thou that thou 
hast not received? And if thou hast received, 
why dost thou glory, as thou hadst not received 
it? (35) Our Father St. John of the Cross tells 
us: If you wish to glory and not to seem fool¬ 
ish, detach yourself from all things that are not 
properly yours, and in what remains you can 
glory. It is certain that if you detach yourselfi 
from the things that are not yours, you will be 
nothing; then you can glory in nothing, or fall into 
vanity. 

10. One of the worst and most repugnant 
features of pride is that it necessarily brings jeal¬ 
ousy along with it. It is natural that he who is 
always anxious about his personal excellence and 
glory, should feel sadness when he sees others 
possess and enjoy what he so ardently desires but 
cannot have. Envy is a loathing and sadness over 
the welfare and happiness of the neighbor. It 
is the most despicable of all vices found in human 
souls excepting that of pride. It is directly op¬ 
posed to the noblest and highest human feeling 
which is amity, a sweet complacency of the heart 
at the welfare of others. Feelings of envy cause 
the greatest havoc in the poor soul that entertains 
them; they kill all its noble and delicate senti¬ 
ments, embitter all pleasures, even the purest and 
holiest, and sometimes render intolerable the life 

(35) 1 Cor. IV. 7. 

(36) Max. 32(5. 


230 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

of persons who could enjoy the sweet peace and 
contentment of the children of God. 

The child of pride and the twin-sister of jeal¬ 
ousy, envy wants the ego alone to be exalted; and 
when it cannot succeed in this, it despises all and 
all despise it; it hates and becomes hateful itself. 
Pride would have all honor and happiness for it¬ 
self alone, hut contrariwise, it nearly always reaps 
dislike and humiliation; for this reason it takes a 
singular pleasure in injuring the honor of the 
neighbor and in destroying the peace and hap¬ 
piness he enjoys. Pride and envy are the charac¬ 
teristics of the evil spirit from whom they orig¬ 
inally proceeded, and by whom they are fomented 
and fostered. 

11. The devil envies others because they are 
destined for the glory he has lost, and rejoices 
when he can prevent some one from attaining it. 
Since he cannot love, he takes a singular pleasure 
in hindering others from loving. As the snake 
injects its poison into those who approach it, so 
the evil spirit infiltrates his envy into men. The 
Holy Scripture says that envy is the rottenness of 
the bones; (37) for as rottenness always destroys 
the vital tissues of the body and torments the 
patient, similarly envy torments and wastes the 
heart and mind that it possesses. It is so mean a 
vice that it can take root among all classes of per¬ 
sons and nobody is entirely free from it, even 


(37) Prov. XIV. 30. 


HUMILITY AND PRIDE 


231 


among those who aspire to be perfect. In some 
way it creeps in more among such persons where 
it can dissemble itself best. Just as the snake 
winds through the most beautiful flower gardens, 
so envy begins to nestle in the innocent hearts of 
children, and it will not leave in peace even those 
who wish to walk, and in fact do walk along the 
paths of virtue and honor. 

But this will be seen better when studying the 
effects of pride in souls, which forms the subject- 
matter of the next chapter. 


CHAPTER XVI 


Vanity and Pride 


l. PRIDE AND WINE.—2. SELF-LOVE IS A HELP TO VIR¬ 
TUE.—3. ALL ARE CHILDREN OF GOD. THE NOTH¬ 
ING OF ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS. IT IS NECESSARY 
TO EDUCATE SELF-LOVE; NOT TO DESTROY IT.— 
4. LITTLE TALENT IS NEEDED TO KNOW SELF- 
LOVE, VANITY, THE FIRST FRUIT OF SELF-LOVE. 
THE VAIN AND THE DRUNKARD.—5. PRIDE RISES 
THREATENINGLY OVER THE RUINS OF VANITY. A 
DIABOLICAL VICE. CONTRADICTION AND OVER¬ 
THROW ENLIVEN IT.—6. VANITY AND PRIDE MUST 
BE CURED FROM WITHIN.—7. A HARMLESS SILLY 
PRIDE IS ALMOST INNOCENT. THE VAIN QUICKLY 
BECOME PROUD. THE PROUD ARE LIKE DRUNK¬ 
ARDS, NEVER SATISFIED.—8. PRIDE, A UNIVERSAL 
VICE. ITS MANIFOLD EXPRESSIONS—9. TALENT 
IS NOT ENOUGH TO AVOID PRIDE. MEN THINK 
WELL AS LONG AS THEIR SELFISHNESS IS NOT 
HURT.—10. “LEAVE HIM ALONE, FOR THAT IS HIS 
WAY.”—11. THIS EVIL IS NOT RECOGNIZED BY 
THOSE AFFECTED. WORDS OF ST. JOHN OF THE 
CROSS.—12. CURE OF SELF-LOVE.—13. HUMILITY 
AND CHARITY. IT IS RIGHT TO ASK MUCH FROM 
RELIGIOUS PERSONS.—14. FOUNDATION OF THE 
RELIGIOUS LIFE. OVERCOME EVIL BY GOOD.—15. 
VALUE OF AN ACT OF HUMILITY. DRIVE THE 
DEVIL AWAY. REJOICING OF THE HEART. 


1. The effects of pride in the soul are many 
and lamentable. They cannot be expressed more 
energetically and profoundly than Holy Scripture 
does by one of the Prophets: As the wine de- 


232 


VANITY AND PRIDE 


233 


ceives him that drinketh it, so shall the proud 
man be. (1) A little wine is not harmful, as the 
Wise Man says: Wine was created from the be¬ 
ginning to make men joyful, and not to make them 
drunk. Wine drunken with moderation is the joy 
of the soul and of the heart. (2) It is healthy, for 
it strengthens the nerves, quickens the fantasy, 
and is a powerful stimulant of all the vital 
forces. But when more is taken than is expe¬ 
dient and even before reaching any excess, it 
renders a man too mirthful and makes him want¬ 
ing in propriety. If the excess is notable, it soon 
dazzles or entirely darkens the mind and then a 
repugnant intoxication appears in all its multi¬ 
plex stages. The same happens with pride. It is 
only a turning aside of self-love, inasmuch as it 
becomes excessive or that man takes exclusive 
complacency in his own excellence. 

2. Neither is self-love bad in itself. God has 
not created anybody to hate himself. The instinct 
of self-preservation and self-esteem was infused 
into the soul by God. Self-love, well understood 
and properly regulated, is a great help for the 
acquisition of virtue and is the necessary sup¬ 
port of public and private morality. Without 
eagerness for excellency and glory man would 
grow stupid like irrational animals; he would 
aspire but to sensual pleasures. Hope, honor, and 

(1) Hab. II. 5. 

(2) Ecc. XXXII. 35. 


234 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


glory would be meaningless words to him. With¬ 
out the sentiment of honor and self-esteem, no 
action would seem dishonorable, no vice degrad¬ 
ing, and that most delicate sentiment of bashful¬ 
ness infused by God Himself into the heart as 
the faithful defender of virtue, would be consid¬ 
ered ridiculous. God has not created man to de¬ 
spise himself absolutely, and to make himself an 
abject being. He Himself tells us: You are 
gods and all of you sons of the most High . (3) 

3. If we are the children of God, then we must 
esteem and behave ourselves as such. Nobody 
ever had a higher estimation of human dignity 
than the saints, and they were the most humble 
men because they understood well these words: 
Our Father, who art in Heaven. (4) But the house 
of our Father is still very far off, and with our 
personal effort assisted by divine grace we have 
to travel towards it. But were we to entertain 
only feelings of absolute abjection and contempt 
of ourselves, we would scarcely make any effort 
to fulfil our duties in the hope of enjoying the 
beatific vision in the eternal mansion of God. 

When the saints recommend humiliations, they 
do not mean that man should renounce absolutely 
every sentiment of honor and excellence, because 
this would be spiritual degradation. The saints 
knew well that true and sincere humility is the 

(3) Ps. LXXXI. 6. 

(4) Matt. VI. 9. 


VANITY AND PRIDE. 


235 


sole means of acquiring true honor and glory; and 
this not only in the other life, but also in the pres¬ 
ent. Therefore our Father St. John of the Cross 
adopted these mottos; each of which is worth 
a treatise on abnegation and joy, on humility and 
glory. 

When I desired nothing, all ivas given me un¬ 
sought. After I had become nothing, I found that 
nothing was wanting. The less you desire to be 
anything, the more you will become something. 
Self-love must not therefore be totally extin¬ 
guished, but properly attended to and regulated. 
Here lies precisely the difficulty. To persist in 
destroying self-love is an illusion, inasmuch 
as it is contrary to nature itself. To pretend to 
form the heart after this fashion would be to 
kill it, to counterfeit virtue making it odious like 
all falsehood and impracticable like everything 
else in conflict with nature. 

4. To understand this and to act accordingly 
in all the circumstances of life, a certain natural 
talent and a great energy of character are at least 
required. Therefore St. Teresa of Jesus was so 
much afraid of persons of limited mental capacity 
and of those who, having some qualities, had 
only partly developed them. The ignorant and 
the half-learned, as she says, made her suffer 
most. Whoever is incapable of understanding 
self-love well, and of tracing it in the folds of his 
own heart and soul in which it so sagaciously con¬ 
ceals itself, will never know how to guide and gov- 


236 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


em others; and he who loses control of his self- 
love will soon fall into lamentable disorders. 

In the first place he will certainly he vain. The 
arrogant is like one who has drunk a little too 
much, but not to excess, for vanity is only a little 
deviation of self-love. The resemblance is very 
strong. The vain and the half intoxicated are 
generally as joyful as they are inoffensive; 
one might almost say that they are good, for 
they are inclined to lavish favors on those in 
need. They do not despise anybody nor enter¬ 
tain any ill will towards anybocly. They are 
satisfied with themselves and experience an inti¬ 
mate satisfaction and joy like children when nar¬ 
rating their deeds. They are even content that 
others too should feel happy, provided their own 
admirable qualities are recognized and thereby 
their own happiness is increased. The vain there¬ 
fore provoke compassion and pity rather than in¬ 
dignation or contempt. Alas, how many there are 
who disfigure their good qualities with their de¬ 
plorable vanity! Better still, where is the man who 
can believe himself free from these weaknesses at 
once so childish and withal so human? How much 
worthier it would be if we could always restrain 
the desire of wanting others to occupy themselves 
with us in season and out of season, and also if 
we were to conquer a little the fear, lest they be 
occupied with iis. The excessive desire of praise 
and the fear of being criticized unjustly, are both 
children of vanity and pride. 


VANITY AND PRIDE. 


237 


5. Vanity however is not the greatest delu¬ 
sion of self-love. He who does not restrain his 
vanity will soon fall into the vice of pride, just 
like the man who does not control himself in drink¬ 
ing more than is necessary, quickly becomes a 
perfect drunkard. Vanity is the mother and the 
nurse of pride, the final evolution of self-love. It 
is most certain that vanity will degenerate into 
pride unless the greatest care and discretion are 
exercised to control it. Contradiction and decep¬ 
tion can kill vanity, but if the heart and the mind 
where vanity radiates, are not healed, pride will 
rise on the ruins of vanity. And thus the second 
state of that man will be incomparably worse than 
the first. The proud man is occupied only with 
himself, he thinks only of himself, he wants every 
one and everything to serve his purpose, he dis¬ 
dains all else, and if he is interested in them it 
is only inasmuch as they contribute to his satis¬ 
faction. The highest expression of the intoxica¬ 
tion of pride was displayed by the devil, when he 
offered the Son of God all the kingdoms of the 
earth and said to Him: All these will I give thee, 
if falling down thou wilt adore me. (5) The deeper 
pride roots and radiates in the spirit, the more 
it will encounter contradiction. St. Thomas says of 
the devil, the first principle of pride, that as he 
cannot repent, his many disgraceful losses serve 
only to increase his pride, and suffering far from 
softening only hardens him. 

(5) Matt. IV. 9. 


238 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


6. Something similar happens to man. Vanity 
is the first and the least offensive manifestation 
of disordered self-love. It will never be cured by 
contradictions. The humiliation that does not 
proceed from our own conscience, and is not the 
result of truth and of the acknowledgment of our 
own weaknesses is not good. Mere external 
humiliation far from remedying it, makes it only 
worse. Sometimes it may be expedient and even 
necessary to humble haughty men or to oblige 
timid persons to reflect on their weakness. But 
as a system it may give rise to disastrous results. 
Self-love is within the spirit, and the remedy 
must he applied from within if we wish to correct 
or direct it: First, make clean the inside of the 
cup and of the dish, that the outside may become 
clean, (6) says our Lord in the Gospel. 

7. If contradictions and humiliations do not 
draw us within, then they are more harmful than 
beneficial. The vain man, as long as he is merely 
vain, is like a spoiled child. We might almost say 
he is sincere and simple, for in him there is not 
much virtue or malice. He carries his heart on his 
sleeve, not to expose it to great sacrifices, but that 
others should see, praise, and caress it. As it is 
rather difficult to obtain this for long, the vain 
person often receives slights instead of attentions, 
in place of praise, blame, and instead of the f ancied 
satisfaction of esteem and love, he meets with 


(6) Matt. XXIII. 26. 


VANITY AND PRIDE. 


239 


upbraidings and reproaches that hurt his delicate 
sentiments. If he does not then withdraw within 
himself and summon his heart and his mind before 
the tribunal of his conscience, to give his thoughts 
and affections a better direction, he will turn 
against those who have wounded his feelings, and 
will pass from vanity to pride. If while only 
vain, he was not able to satisfy his longing for 
esteem and love, much less will he succeed now 
when pride is supplanting the vanity of his heart 
and mind. The greater the contradiction, the 
more wounded will he feel himself, and the greater 
dislike and aversion will he have for those who 
contradicted him; while they in their turn will 
show him greater antipathy. Let us then learn 
to educate our self-love properly and in its very 
beginnings, lest it degenerate into inordinate self¬ 
affection, which soon transforms itself into van¬ 
ity, and vanity into the most repulsive pride. 

Holy Scripture confirms our assertion: The 
pride of them that hate thee ascendeth contin¬ 
ually. (7) The proud are like the intoxicated, the 
more these drink, the thirstier they are, and the 
more stupid and degraded they become. The 
Prophet Habacuc, after having compared the 
proud with the drunkard, says: So shall the proud 
man he, and he shall not he honored; who hath en¬ 
larged his desire like hell; and is himself like 
death, and he is never satisfied. (8) 

(7) LXXIII. 23. 

(8) Hab. II. 5. 


240 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

8. This terrible description of pride should be 
sufficient to make us love the virtue of humility 
and hate the repugnant vice of pride. But not¬ 
withstanding its repulsiveness, it is the most com¬ 
mon vice in the world. No other is more deeply 
seated within us and we can exclaim with Sol¬ 
omon: Who can say, my heart is clean, I am pure 
from sin9 (9) Pride does not take the same form 
nor the same intensity in all persons. There is 
nothing in the moral order more varied than 
the different manifestations of pride. From those 
first and almost unconscious movements of self- 
complacency which occasionally surprise conse¬ 
crated persons even in their best works of piety, 
to that perfect pride which displays a hatred for 
all as well as stubborn persistence in the evil, 
there are nearly infinite degrees, and consequently 
the manifestations of pride are also innumerable 
and most varied. Pride aims at converting 
into efficient helpers not only talent, but even 
virtue, and that notwithstanding their natural 
antipathy for each other. 

9. This vice is found and sometimes most 
deeply rooted, even in persons whose talent, good 
sense, and rectitude of judgment are beyond all 
doubt. It is frequent in any social circle 
whether in the cloister or in the world. It exists 
among persons who think well and see clearly in 
all matters except those in which self-love inter- 


(9) Prov. XX. 9. 


VANITY AND PRIDE. 


241 


venes; then they reason in a most ludicrous man¬ 
ner and it is useless to argue with them on these 
matters, for then they are guided, not by reason, 
but by the feelings which the bleeding wounds of 
self-love call forth. Under the influence of these 
emotions they bitterly assail those who venture to 
differ from them in their opinion, and perhaps 
they may even despise them, considering them 
ignorant and not able to see things as they do, for 
their pride renders all so very clear. 

10. Men of this class are to be found every¬ 
where, and people seem to have reached the con¬ 
clusion that when men are in this condition they 
are incurable and intractable. For this reason we 
say when we meet one: “Let him alone, that is 
his way.” This means: “It is necessary to 
yield, not because he has truth and justice on his 
side, but because he is selfish, because that is his 
way.” And perhaps he may feel a certain com¬ 
placency in being treated after this manner. Per¬ 
haps even he takes delight in stubbornly defend¬ 
ing his view, not because he believes it true or 
just, but that others should see that he does not 
withdraw at any rate; let others know well that 
this is his way. Can there be anything more 
dishonorable and humiliating than to be treated 
after this fashion? Indeed, fools and drunkards 
meet with the same treatment. Pride is there¬ 
fore justly styled an intoxication of the spirit. 
Let us repeat with the Holy Ghost: As the drunk¬ 
ard is deceived by wine, so is man by pride. 


242 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


11. The greatest danger of this vice consists in 
the fact that the one afflicted generally does not 
recognize it. It is like phthisis, which is known by 
all except the patient himself. Many persons 
would be frightened if they could convince them¬ 
selves that a great part of their actions are in¬ 
spired and animated by a secret pride which lurks 
in the innermost recess of their souls. The vice 
of pride does not spare any state or condition. 
Our Father St. John of the Cross says that even 
persons who have been favored with supernatural 
graces can most easily fall into this ugly vice, and 
he lays down most wise rules to know when one 
is suffering from this dangerous illness: 

Men might see this very clearly, if they would 
hut reflect on that feeling of dislike and aversion 
produced in them by those, who do not commend 
their spirit, or attribute any value to their expe¬ 
riences, on that feeling of distress, which they 
have when they are told that others also have the 
like or greater gifts. All this is the fruit of secret 
self-esteem and pride, and they cannot be made 
to understand that they are steeped in it up to 
their very eyes. They think that a certain recog¬ 
nition of their oivn wretchedness is sufficient, while 
at the same time they are filled with secret self¬ 
esteem and personal satisfaction, taking more de¬ 
light in their own spirit and gifts than in those of 
another. They are like the Pharisee who thanked 
God that he was not like the rest of men. Now 
these men do not say this in so many words, as 


VANITY AND PRIDE. 


243 


the Pharisee did, hut they habitually think so; 
and some of them even become so proud as to be 
worse than devils. (10) To avoid this pestilent 
evil, abominable in the sight of God, says the same 
holy Father, there are two considerations. The 
first is that virtue does not consist in apprehen¬ 
sions and feelings about God . . . nor in any per¬ 
sonal experience of this kind, but on the contrary, 
in that which is not matter of feeling at all, in 
great humility, contempt of ourselves and of all 
that belongs to us, profoundly rooted in the soul. 
The second is, thM all visions, revelations, and 
heavenly feelings . . . are not worth the least 
act of humility bearing the fruits of that charity 
which neither values nor seeks itself, which think- 
eth no evil except of self, which thinketh well not 
of self, but all others. (11) 

12. Pride, vanity, and jealousy are then noth¬ 
ing more than so many degrees or manifestations 
of self-love wrongly understood or wrongly and 
ineffectually guided. Nearly all souls suffer 
more or less from these weaknesses. To offer 
outward violence is not the best system for curing 
them, the opposition must come from within as¬ 
sisted by divine grace, which is obtained by humble 
and persevering prayer, by interior light and 
truth which must inform and actuate our con¬ 
science. In a conscience informed and enlivened 

(10) 3 Ascent, Chapter VIII. 

(11) 3 Ascent, VIII. 3, 4. 


244 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


in this, way, consists the true character of man. 
When the truth is well known and meditated upon 
we shall understand what we are and what God 
is; how great is our misery and how lofty our des¬ 
tiny in the sight of God; how humility embellishes 
the soul and makes it lovable before God and men, 
and how pride deforms and torments the soul 
when under its influence, making it hateful to God, 
intolerable to itself, and detestable to men. 

To acquire the charming virtue of humility 
and to root out the repulsive vice of pride, there 
is need of our personal effort together with divine 
grace. The personal effort should consist in op¬ 
posing very peacefully but at the same time very 
energetically, every movement of vanity and of 
pride, and in always practising the contrary vir¬ 
tue of humility. By the constant repetition of 
the same actions, the habit of performing them 
naturally, as it were, is acquired, and it is in this 
habit that the moral virtue consists. Our holy 
Father recommends this exercise in his third pre¬ 
caution against the devil. Try, he says, to humble 
yourself always in thoughts, words, and actions , 
taking more pleasure in the welfare of others than 
in your oivn, and wishing they should be pre¬ 
ferred to you in all things, and do this with a sin¬ 
cere heart. Much is asked of us here; we are not 
permitted to flatter our self-love in thoughts, 
words, or deeds, that we may not in any way 
encourage our vanity and petulancy. 


VANITY AND PRIDE. 


243 


13. We are also commanded to unite charity 
with humility, for we are told to rejoice in the 
welfare of our neighbor more than in our own. 
This is true charity according to the Gospel. But 
our holy Father is not yet satisfied; he wants us 
to desire that our brethren be preferred to us in 
all things. To love all, not to desire evil to any 
one, and to wish that all may enjoy what we our¬ 
selves enjoy, is very noble and seems natural and 
even relatively easy. But our Father wants us 
to desire that they should be preferred to us in all 
things; and he adds: Try to do this with those 
who are less agreeable to you. 

Really much is demanded of weak human 
nature. But undoubtedly he had the right to 
speak so when addressing religious. He supposed 
us to be well informed on what the religious state 
is, and how necessary humility is for this state, for 
he had taught us all this by his books and his 
example. He could well say to us with St. Paul: 
I speak to them that know the law, (12) the law 
of the Gospel and of the Order we have professed. 
These precautions are intended for us who pro¬ 
fess that the worship of God and our sanctifica¬ 
tion are our principal occupation; and we are not 
ignorant that those who adore God, must adore 
Him in spirit and in truth. (13) If it is not so, 
then our profession and our life are a disgraceful 
farce, since without humility our spirit and our 

(12) Rom. VII. 1. 

(13) John IV. 24. 


246 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


works cannot be acceptable to God, for the proud 
are an abomination before Him. 

14. Humility properly understood is the neces¬ 
sary foundation of the religious life; therefore 
our Mother St. Teresa said to her daughters: 
Let each one look and see how much humility she 
has and she will know hoiv far she has advanced! 

Our Holy Father while recommending to us 
these exercises tells us twice, at the beginning 
and at the end, that they must come from our 
heart , from our whole heart. By this he wished 
to make us understand that here there is no ques¬ 
tion of mere formalities or disciplinary disposi¬ 
tions, which are satisfied with external actions, 
but he wants all our actions to bear the stamp of 
a complete and sincere conviction, which he ex¬ 
presses by the words from our hearty and from 
our whole heart. 

In the teaching of St. John of the Cross and 
of St. Teresa, the spirit of sincerity and truth is 
always evident. They do not allow us to do any¬ 
thing through routine and still less through a 
spirit of hypocrisy. All must be done with the full 
knowledge of what we are doing, all from our 
whole heart. Our holy Father tells us that by 
practising these maxims faithfully we shall over¬ 
come evil by good. Never to be overcome by evil, 
but to destroy the evil by an abundance of good 
is the privilege of humble souls. Hard and high 
rocks form a strong barrier to the waves of the 


VANITY AND PRIDE. 


247 


sea, blit as the waves strike them century after 
century, they are finally undermined and tumble 
down; but the lowly sand of the shore does not 
oppose the fury of the same waves; on the con¬ 
trary, in the layers of fine, clean sand, the en¬ 
raged waves are calmed and broken up. It is the 
same with humble souls; by the abundance of 
their goodness they extinguish and destroy the 
violence of evil. When two proud hearts come 
into conflict they mutually hurt each other. Both 
are conquered, each by the evil or want of virtue 
in the other. The only gainer is the .devil, who 
takes great pleasure in such encounters between 
persons not well grounded in humility. 

15. On the contrary, nothing confuses him 
more than a sincere act of humility on the part 
of the person whom he wanted to tempt. Does 
not our holy Father teach that an act of true 
humility is better than any other work we can do 
for God? A simple act of humility is more meri¬ 
torious than the performance of great miracles; 
because in the miracle all depends on the power 
of God, whereas in acts of humility we give of 
our own. By each sincere act of humility done for 
God we increase greatly our future glory in 
heaven, and we honor the Lord with this simple 
worship of our heart, which is so pleasing to Him. 
And as the glory of God and the salvation of 
souls are most hated by the evil spirit, he leaves 
those souls alone who at every suggestion of his 
make sincere acts of humility, and because God 


248 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


corresponds with a certain supernatural help for 
future battles with the enemy. 

Therefore our holy Father says that by the 
practice of acts of humility you will drive the 
devil far away and bring joy into your heart. 
When far away from the devil and blessed with 
special graces, we cannot but enjoy great peace in 
our souls. This should show humble souls how 
near they are to the Lord. Our holy Father con¬ 
cludes: And you must know that if you do not 
exercise it, you will never have true charity, nor 
advance in it. This is the result of all that has 
been said, for humility is not perfect, is not true 
without charity, nor can charity exist if it has 
not true humility for its basis. 




CHAPTER XVII 

Our Neighbor the Agent of Our Sanctification 

1. WORDS OF ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS.—2. NATURE 
IS OPPOSED TO VIRTUE.—3. GOD CREATED MAN A 
SOCIABLE BEING. THE FIRST MAN ALONE IN 
PARADISE.—4. MAN MADE SOCIETY DIFFICULT, 
EDUCATION MAKES IT EASIER—5. A GOOD EDUCA¬ 
TION THE HELPER OF VIRTUE. NOTABLE OBSERV¬ 
ATION.—6. CHRISTIAN CHARITY AND EDUCATION — 
7. POINT OF VIEW OF ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS—8. 
PSYCHOLOGY OF THE SAINTS. 9. DIVINE PROVI¬ 
DENCE. EVERYTHING FOR THE GOOD OF HIS 
ELECT.—10. SEE DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN ALL 
THINGS. THE EXAMPLE OF DAVID.—11. IT IS 
PROVIDENCE THAT BRINGS PERSONS TOGETHER 
WHO ARE NATURALLY AT VARIANCE.—12. THE 
BEST BENEFACTORS—13. VOICE OF SELFISHNESS. 
—14. MOST OPPORTUNE COMMENTS. CONTEMPLAT¬ 
ING THE AGITATIONS OF ONE’S OWN HEART.—15. 
NOBODY SHOULD REJOICE AT ANOTHER MAN’S 
SUFFERINGS.—16 WITHOUT EXECUTIONERS THERE 
WOULD BE NO MARTYRS. OFFICE THE GOOD „ 
ANGEL.—17. LOVE FOR THOSE WHO MORTIFY US. 
TESTIMONY OF ST. TERESA AND OF ST. JOHN OF 
THE CROSS.—18. INSIGNIFICANT DETAILS OF DAILY 
LIFE.—19. PROLONGED BUT EASY MARTYRDOM. 

1. Three precautions to he observed by those 
who wish to conquer themselves and overcome 
their sensuality, their third enemy: 

FIRST PRECAUTION 

Let the first precaution be to understand, that 
if you wish to be freed from the imperfections 
and uneasiness of which the character and con- 


249 


250 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


versation of the religious may he the occasion , 
and to profit by everything that may happen, you 
must hear in mind that you came to the convent 
to he mortified and tried, and that all those in 
authority in it are there, as in fact they are, for 
that purpose. Some tvill mortify you hy words, 
others hy deeds, others hy what they think of you; 
in all this you are to submit yourself as the statue 
to the polisher, the painter, and the gilder of it. 
If you'do not observe this, you will not learn how 
to overcome your sensuality and feelings, nor will 
you know hoiv to live as you ought in the convent 
with the religious, neither will you ever attain to 
holy peace, nor free yourself from many obstacles 
and evils. 

2. The third enemy of man is man himself, in¬ 
asmuch as he finds within himself obstacles to 
virtue. These inconveniences proceed sometimes 
from his less noble part, which is generally called 
sensuality, and at other times from his heart and 
mind, for all three—the mind, the heart, and the 
flesh—offer great opposition to the exercise nec¬ 
essary for our sanctification. Our holy Father 
understands by this word flesh, our own nature, 
inasmuch as it raises opposition to all virtuous 
exercises. 

Much has already been written about the hard¬ 
ship and conflicts that man has to sustain against 
his passions, and therefore it is not necessary to 


AGENT OF OUR SANCTIFICATION 


251 


repeat it here. (1) We are limiting ourselves now 
to the spirit of these precautions, and therefore 
we shall study only the manner of conquering and 
directing the repugnance of nature. First and 
principally we shall consider those that are 
directed against the persons with whom we live. 

3. God created man a sociable being; fellow¬ 
ship is natural to all. He gave him understanding 
and the admirable gift of language, that men 
should understand and love one another and with¬ 
out which man would live a most solitary life in 
the ruidst of the universe. He did not feel happy in 
the first days of the world when placed in that 
paradise of delights which God had created for 
him alone. Holy Scripture tells us that, having 
created all the animals of the earth and all the 
birds of the air, the Lord brought them before 
Adam, that he could contemplate them and give to 
each a suitable name. This was for man an act of 
royal dignity and power, which would never be 
equalled by anybody else, and notwithstanding this 
the first Father of our race was not happy. The 
vaulted firmament overhead with its myriads of 
stars, the birds rejoicing in their brilliant plumage 
and first melodies, the beasts that obeyed him, the 
trees and plants of paradise with their delicious 
fruits and beautiful flowers: none could content 
and satisfy him because he was alone. . . . Yes, 
he felt alone in the midst of the charms of the first 


Desde mi celda. 


252 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


days of creation. All served him as their king, 
hut none was a companion like to himself. He 
needed some other creature that would under¬ 
stand him, and understanding would love him, 
and whom he himself could understand and love. 
Without a (communion of souls men are very 
lonely, no matter how near to each other they may 
be in body, for each man needs the company of 
his fellow creatures. 

4. Though God created man a sociable being, 
we have made this human interchange very diffi¬ 
cult by reason of our manifold defects. Since 
social intercourse is necessary, and since the 
human defects that render it difficult are many 
and not easily remedied, a certain modus vivendi , 
if the phraseology is permitted, is necessary to 
make human intercourse possible and even pleas¬ 
ing, notwithstanding the great defects of men. 

This formula of virtue or modus vivendi is 
called social education. Education, as it is ordi¬ 
narily understood, does not radically root out in 
the individual any vice, nor does it infallibly pro¬ 
duce any virtue. But it imposes on each individ¬ 
ual the obligation of hiding his own defects, so as 
not to cause annoyance to others and it imposes 
on all the obligation of tolerating in others the 
defects which they cannot entirely conceal. There¬ 
fore has it been said that a good education is a 
beautiful robe which covers great human weak¬ 
ness, and even very repulsive misery. Therefore, 
also, those who are weakest and have the great- 


AGENT OF OUR SANCTIFICATION 


253 


est miseries to hide, stand most in need of a good 
education. This does not imply that in the name 
of virtue the forms and manners invented by men 
to render social intercourse agreeable, should be 
neglected. On the contrary, virtue can and ought 
to avail itself of the manners that a good educa¬ 
tion fosters, for all is necessary to enable us to 
bear one another’s burdens and to cultivate 
mutual good will and esteem! 

5. If we all were good and perfect in heart and 
mind there would be no need of formalism to make 
ourselves agreeable. Absolute sincerity would 
then be the only form in social intercourse, and 
our hearts, like the flowers that open in the full 
light, would offend nobody but attract every one 
by the perfume of their virtue. Unfortunately, 
this ideal perfection is not ours; and so, while at¬ 
tending to our own weaknesses and paying due 
consideration to other people’s shortcomings, we 
appreciate good social manners that help to make 
human intercourse more graceful. 

Good education, even as it is understood in the 
world, is an excellent companion of virtue, for 
they mutually help each other. Forgetfulness of 
this principle often deprives virtue of its beauty, 
mars its highest influence, and renders its 
labors among others fruitless. While the same 
education enables the wicked to hide many moral 
miseries and to make the evil more dangerous, be¬ 
cause their refined manners help them to dissemble 
more easily; it therefore becomes necessary for 
good people to give more splendor to their virtues. 


254 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

A venerable Bishop, speaking on a certain occa¬ 
sion of persons who belonged to a distinct social 
class, said: Generally they are good, for they have 
many virtues and good qualities and none of the 
great vices; hut very frequently we notice in them 
some deficiency of education. On the contrary, 
worldly people have many of the ugly vices and 
none of the great virtues, hut as they nearly al¬ 
ways have a fine education, their conversation is 
very agreeable, notwithstanding their gross vices; 
whereas the former are intractable, notwithstand¬ 
ing their many virtues. Great virtue combined 
with an excellent social education, should make a 
person a model of human intercourse. 

6. Christian charity in connection with the 
defects of our neighbor, requires much more of 
us than simple social education; it requires, 
not only that we overlook these defects in our 
neighbor, but also that we ignore them as far as 
possible. Therefore St. Paul says: Charity think- 
eth no evil. (2) When we cannot ignore defects, 
then we must tolerate them with great firm¬ 
ness of mind; for, says the same Apostle: Charity 
is patient, is kind; charity envieth not, dealeth not 
perversely; is not puffed up; is not ambitious, 
seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger . . . 
heareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all 
things, endureth all things. (3) A person with a 
heart so full of charity would certainly be incom- 

(2) I Cor. XIII. 5. 

(3) I Cor. XIII. 4-7. 




AGENT OF OUR SANCTIFICATION 


255- 


parably better than another who, without this 
charming virtue, would possess the most refined 
social manners; because one who is animated with 
such noble sentiments, must surely make his inter¬ 
course agreeable to every sensible person. 

7. Our Father St. John of the Cross chooses 
for himself a still higher point of view. He wants 
us to bear patiently with the defects and differ¬ 
ences of character in our neighbor, but he expects 
still more. He wants us to profit by them for our 
own sanctification; and consequently to accept 
and even desire them as something useful and 
necessary for the obtaining of a great good. In 
his maxims against the flesh or disorderly inclina¬ 
tions of nature, he tells us: Let the first precau¬ 
tion he to understand ivell that you came to the 
convent to he mortified and tried hy every one. 
According to the mind of our holy Father, all per¬ 
sons with whom we have to deal are nothing else 
than instruments of Divine Providence to de¬ 
liver us from our pride and egotism, and thus pre¬ 
pare us for heaven. This point of view is incom¬ 
parably more extensive and beautiful than the 
idea of social education. 

In the second of his “Four Maxims to Re¬ 
ligious” the holy Father explains still more this 
teaching: It is expedient for him to take this 
deeply to his heart; that he came to the convent 
for no other purpose than to he mortified and 
exercised in virtue; that he is like the stone which 
is dressed and polished before it is set in the huild- 


256 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


ing. He must understand that all those who are 
in the convent are merely the instruments which 
God has placed there to try and exercise him by 
mortifications. Some will exercise him by words, 
saying what he does not like to hear; others by 
deeds, doing what he does not like to suffer; 
others by their habits, being trying and dull in 
their conversation and manners; others by 
thoughts, arousing his sensitiveness and causing 
him to think that they do not like him. All these 
mortifications and hardships he ought to suffer 
with great interior patience, and be silent for the 
love of God, understanding that he came to the 
congregation for no other purpose than to be mor¬ 
tified and made worthy of heaven. 

8. This is certainly an admirable teaching, a 
most wonderful and excellent method of studying 
men and their shortcomings. This explains the 
thousand human differences, especially among 
good people, and what Divine Providence intends 
in permitting this multitude of vexations among 
His faithful servants; they but carry out the 
divine designs. Without applying this sound cri¬ 
terion the many little incidents in human life can¬ 
not be understood, and because they are not un¬ 
derstood they molest and disturb us. But let us 
look at them from this high vantage point, and it 
will be understood how one thing can be so repug¬ 
nant and irritating to some persons and to others 
the same is tolerable and even desirable. From 
this height the psychology of the saints and their 


AGENT OF OUR SANCTIFICATION 


257 


strange inclinations are also explained. If the 
rough stone could understand, it would cherish 
the hand of the artist which so pitilessly trims it 
only to polish it the more. 

If this manner of viewing things and appre¬ 
ciating them was well fixed in the hearts of men, 
very soon all sources of dissatisfaction and agi¬ 
tation would dry up and disappear, not only in 
individuals, but also in religious houses, in fam¬ 
ilies, and in general among all classes of men. 

9. We cannot say that this teaching is new nor 
peculiar to the holy Doctor of Carmel; it is a con¬ 
sequence of the teaching of the Gospel and of the 
Catholic doctrine of Divine Providence. We know 
well that in the whole universe there is no being 
however small, nor are there any habits of men, 
which are invisible to Divine Providence. God sees 
all His creatures conjunctively and individually. 
To each one and to all his characteristic ways God 
has appointed a special end, a certain harmony in 
the order of the universe. These special ends co¬ 
operate admirably to the glory of God and the 
sanctification and advantage of the elect. 

Is not this the reason why our Divine Redeemer 
calling the attention of His disciples to some little 
birds said to them: Are not two sparrows 
sold for a farthing? and not one of them shall fall 
to the ground without your Father. But the very 
hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, 
therefore, better are you than many sparrows.(4:) 

(4) Matt. X. 29. 


258 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


And St. Paul says: This is the will of God, your 
sanctification. (5) And we know that to them that 
love God, all things work together unto good, to 
such as according to His purpose are called to he 
saints. (6) We are all called to holiness, and 
especially those of us who have consecrated our¬ 
selves by a religious profession. 

We all know this only too well, and not one of 
those consecrated to God is ignorant of the fact 
that whatever happens to him is permitted by 
Providence, that he may avad himself of it to 
further his sanctification. It is a truth habitually 
in our mind and very frequently on our lips. 
But how different this is from taking it deeply to 
heart, thereby to regulate our feelings and conduct 
in all the circumstances of life. 

10. Certainly this truth was well taken to heart 
by King David. When fleeing from his son Absa¬ 
lom he forgave Semei who insulted him most 
grievously, calling him a man of Belial; so far 
went the fury of the rebellious subject that he 
threw sand and stones at his king. To those who 
asked permission to destroy the insolent man 
David meekly answered: Let him alone and let him 
curse; for the Lord hath hid him curse David; 
and who is he that shall dare say, why hath he 
done so? Perhaps the Lord may look upon my 

(5) I Thes. IV. 3. 

(G) Rom. VIII. 28. 


AGENT OF OUR SANCTIFICATION 259 

affliction, and the Lord may render me good for 
the cursing of this day. (7) 

David saw in the reproaches of Semei a dispen¬ 
sation of Divine Providence, which if He did not 
order them directly, permitted them to give the 
holy king an occasion of practising heroic acts of 
virtue. It is in fact very difficult always to see 
Divine Providence in those who are disagreeable 
to us; but nevertheless it is Providence foresee¬ 
ing and permitting all the movements of the 
human heart and regulating the thousand differ¬ 
ent characters of men. Nothing can be hidden 
from God; the external and internal actions of 
men, as well as the most secret movements of 
their hearts are actually present to Him. If our 
Lord Jesus Christ tells us that God has counted 
the very hairs of all the children of Adam, with 
how much more reason we should believe that 
the different characters of His children will 
not pass unnoticed. God alone can sound 
the human heart; and He alone knows what some 
persons experience when they meet each other; 
and nevertheless He permits and even orders them 
to live together, although they are naturally re¬ 
pulsive to each other. 

11. Yes, certainly God has brought these per¬ 
sons together who have a natural antipathy for 
each other, that through their forbearance and 
mutual love they may attain to great moral vir- 


(7) 2 Kings XVI. 10, 12. 


260 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


tues and high sanctity. We must therefore be¬ 
lieve that the Lord knows well, that the persons 
with whom we have to deal so much are not, per¬ 
haps very congenial to us. We are agreeable on 
principle for we wish to serve God, but we cannot 
in any way agree in secondary matters nor in 
the details; their criterion is opposed to ours, 
their manners contrast with ours, their feelings 
provoke our feelings; Divine Providence knows 
all this, and yet has permitted and possibly wished 
that we should live together, that in turn we may 
make one another suffer and merit. 

The fact that persons of such different charac¬ 
ters and temperaments should live together in the 
same house and probably discharge the same 
duties, is certainly not a casualty nor a mere 
human disposition; it is Divine Providence Who 
has disposed or commanded it to be thus. There 
can be no question of luck, especially in the moral 
order and much less in the affairs of religious 
persons. 

12. We ought then to believe firmly that those 
persons who molest us so much, perhaps uncon¬ 
sciously and certainly without any intention of 
offending us, are the instruments sent by Divine 
Providence to help us in our sanctification. 
Their manners so contrary to our feelings, and 
which convulse our nerves like the discharge of a 
battery, show how far we are from that perfect 
control of ourselves, so highly recommended and 
so justly expected from persons consecrated to 


AGENT OF OUR SANCTIFICATION 


261 


God. That indifference which we take for con¬ 
tempt, and which hurts and irritates us so much 
at least interiorly, proves how far we are from 
the admirable meekness of the Savior; and those 
words, which in the mind of the one who uttered 
them, were certainly not intentionally bad, but at 
most wanting a little in prudence, yet to us they 
seem sarcastic, and offend deeply our sensitive¬ 
ness, and disturb and rob us of our peace of soul; 
all goes to show that after many years of religious 
life, there still lurks in the depths of our soul much 
pride and sensibility, which a little agitation suf¬ 
fices to bring to the surface. In this manner can 
those who do not sympathize with us reveal 
our actual state, and perhaps it was for this pur¬ 
pose that Divine Providence placed them near us, 
to teach and show us what is most difficult to 
understand—the knowledge of ourselves. 

13. Wounded self-love causes the imagination 
to distort the offense, making it appear much 
worse than it really is; this in turn embitters the 
heart and impels us to revenge, to treat the of¬ 
fender as we imagine he treats us. It hints with 
diabolic insistence that the only fitting way to 
deal with him is to leave him strictly alone, and 
to regard him with silent contempt. A more mod¬ 
erate, human prudence will suggest to withdraw 
from such persons as much as possible, and to ask 
the Superior to excuse us from living with people 
with whom we cannot sympathize. The Christian 
charity which we owe to ourselves before every 


262 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


one else tells us as does our holy Father in this 
precaution! Behold here a great treasure, do not 
lose it. Those persons who unconsciously mortify 
you so much are furnishing you with immense 
spiritual treasures. By thus agitating your mind 
and heart, they help you to know yourself better, 
and every day and hour they provide you with 
magnificent opportunities of offering to God a 
multitude of little sacrifices. 

As we know from St. John of the Cross 
that it is great wisdom to know how to be silent 
and to suffer, and not to consider the words and 
deeds of other people’s lives, (8) and that a single 
act of abnegation and patience performed through 
pure love have more merit than working miracles; 
it is clear that it is more useful for our sanctifica¬ 
tion to live with people whose character does not 
agree with our feelings, than with those who are 
naturally more congenial to us. 

14. It is certain that in dealing with such 
persons we shall often experience some of those 
inconveniences which embitter our heart and dis¬ 
turb our mind, because they stir up all the base 
instincts with us. Then we are being offered 
the best opportunities in our life, if we know how 
to make good use of them, to humble ourselves, to 
pray, and to merit. Instead of brooding over un¬ 
charitable thoughts with which we only poison 
our mind and embitter our heart and place our- 


(8) Max. 178. 


AGENT OF OUR SANCTIFICATION 


263 


selves in a dangerous position, we ought to kneel 
before our crucifix and pray devoutly until we 
regain our peace. This is an easy way to preserve 
peace of mind in the midst of the greatest per¬ 
turbations of the imagination and of the heart. 
Ah, how little self appears when viewed from the 
heights of a clear conscience and one contemplates 
his heart so profoundly agitated by a mere trifle! 
Then if ever our acts of humility come from the 
bottom of our heart! How much self-knowledge 
and merit are then acquired in a few minutes of 
prayer! Peace of soul is quickly recovered and 
we are strengthened to begin anew. A few min¬ 
utes of this nature are more useful and efficacious 
than many mouths of pious reading and penance. 

15. Let us never forget that we owe this bless¬ 
ing occasionally to persons who have been less 
gracious to us. The company of those who love 
us and flatter us will never be so useful. On the 
great day of reckoning we shall see that we are 
debtors to those who made us suffer, much more 
than to those who tried to please us and make us 
happy. 

But nobody should desire for himself and on 
behalf of others the office of executioner; under 
no pretense should the sufferings of others be a 
pleasure to any one, and much less should he de¬ 
sire to be their cause. In ancient Rome where the 
highest pagan civilization came into contact with 
depths of human degeneration, distinguished 
ladies and noble senators and citizens could ex- 


264 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


perience an intimate joy in seeing and making 
human beings suffer. It is incomprehensible how 
any one can take pleasure in seeing men, or even 
animals, suffer, after the doctrine of love was pro¬ 
claimed which commenced on the Mount of the 
Beatitudes, and after so many holy men have 
passed and are still passing through the world, 
walking in the steps of the Savior, and when 
men, even those who do not believe, are attracted 
by the most beautiful lessons of the Gospel, those 
of charity and meekness. 

It is however well known that here and there, 
even among those who live under the shadow of 
the cross, are some who take a secret pleasure in 
seeing and in causing suffering, especially moral 
suffering. I like to tease him; is heard so often 
from persons who are considered good. Such peo¬ 
ple are sick either in their mind or heart, or in 
both. To take pleasure in the suffering of others, 
whoever they may be, one's heart cannot be 
formed according to the law of the Gospel, for no¬ 
body considers the pleasure of mortifying others 
so innocent that he would wish to offer it to God 
as an offering saying: Oh! my God , 1 offer Thee 
the pleasure I have taken to-day in mortifying my 
brethren. 

# 16. Notwithstanding all this, it is in the de¬ 
signs of God that we bear patiently the annoy¬ 
ances that we cause one another, because without 
executioners there could be no martyrs. In this 
sense martyrs owe to their executioners the im- 


AGENT OF OUR SANCTIFICATION 


265 


mense glory they enjoy in heaven. The martyr¬ 
dom of spirit is no less pleasing to God than the 
martyrdom of the body. It is therefore necessary 
that there be some one to torture mind and heart; 
certainly nobody desires to be the executioner of 
the heart and mind of his neighbor, no matter 
how beneficial it may be to others. Let us beg 
the Lord not to use us as instruments to sanctify 
His elect through sorrows caused by us, 
though we may have unconsciously given occa¬ 
sion of merit to many of them. How much 
more sympathetic is the office of the good 
angel, who draws souls to God by love. But al¬ 
though we must not exercise the office of execu¬ 
tioner towards any of our brethren, we must 
accept, and even be grateful to persons of a 
character different from ours, who have been 
placed by God near us in order to purify us and 
make-us gain heaven. And this all the more so 
when, as it nearly always happens among re¬ 
ligious persons, those who mortify us do it un¬ 
consciously. In this case the one who mortifies 
us gains as much merit as the one who, with great 
heroism and the highest motives, accepts the mor¬ 
tification. 

17. This explains the exceptional, and for the 
world incomprehensible psychology of the saints, 
with their repugnance to praise and flattery and 
their sincere gratitude for those who mortified 
them most. We must not wonder therefore at 
what our holy Mother St. Teresa says in her book 


266 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


of the Seven Mansions: These persons feel a 
great interior joy when they are persecuted, and 
are far more peaceful than in the former state 
under such circumstances; they hear no grudge 
against their enemies nor wish them any ill . In¬ 
deed they have great affection for them, are 
deeply grieved at seeing them in trouble, and do 
all they can to help them, earnestly interceding 
with God on their behalf. They would gladly de¬ 
prive themselves of the special favors of God if 
they might he given to their enemies instead, to 
prevent them from offending God. (8) 

This is the high point of view from which St. 
John of the Cross regards cloistered life; conse¬ 
quently he explains the religious life as follows: 
If it was not for this purpose, then there was no 
reason for entering the convent; it would have 
been better, in fact, to have remained in the world 
and sought its consolations, honor, and reputa¬ 
tion and live in full liberty. 

18. Viewed in this way religious life, men and 
their shortcomings, are explained and all the diffi¬ 
culties disappear. Daily life even in its insig¬ 
nificant details becomes then a rich mine of great 
merits. What seemed intolerable defects in 
others are converted into excellent opportunities 
to practise heroic acts of virtue, and this with¬ 
out going out of the simple and ordinary life. 
Then as our holy Father says: One benefits by 


(8) Mansion 7th Chap. III. 


AGENT OF OUR SANCTIFICATION 


267 


every incident . St. Ignatius, martyr, provoked 
the wild beasts to destroy his body that his pre¬ 
cious soul could soon enjoy its crown in heaven. 
Tender Christian virgins cherished the hand of 
the executioner, which was to sever the ties that 
kept back their beautiful souls from the presence 
of their Spouse, Jesus Christ. After their ex¬ 
ample let us sutler with resignation, and even 
joyfully, the unsympathetic character of those 
with whom we have to live, remembering that they 
afford us manifold occasions to acquire great 
merits, 

19. Whoever preserves for years his heart re¬ 
signed, amiable, and contented in the company of 
persons who, consciously or unconsciously, mor¬ 
tify him continually, will have no less merit be¬ 
fore God than the martyr who offers his neck to 
the executioner. The former is a prolonged mar¬ 
tyrdom of mind and heart. All those who are con¬ 
secrated to God by a religious profession must 
aspire to this martyrdom. For this reason the 
religious state is called a prolonged martyrdom; 
and it is often those who are aiming at the same 
goal with ourselves, who will mortify us most. 
This is the genuine spirit of our Father St. John 
of the Cross. If any one doubts it, let him read 
and meditate again on the precautions of our 
saint. Where this spirit is not understood and 
practised, religious life is not understood, nor is 
it possible to acquire virtue, to preserve peace of 
heart and mind, or avoid many faults against 


268 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


charity: If you do not observe this, you will not 
know how to overcome your sensuality and feel - 
ingSy nor will you know how to live as you ought 
in the convent with the religious, neither will you 
ever attain to holy peace, nor free yourself from 
many obstacles and evils. Let us meditate assidu¬ 
ously on these words of our holy Father, and 
make constant efforts to put them into practice, 
then neither the devil nor our sensuality will ever 
disturb the sweet peace of our heart. 


CHAPTER XVIII 

Eighth Precaution, the Second against the 

Flesh 

1. WORDS OP ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS—2. MOTIVE 
OP HUMAN ACTIONS. PLEASURE IS A LAWFUL IN¬ 
CITEMENT.—3. TO ACT FOR THE SAKE OF PLEAS¬ 
URE IS DEGRADING.—4. GOD PUNISHES MEN BY 
ALLOWING THEM TO DO THEIR OWN WILD. MAN 
MUST BE GUIDED BY HIS REASON AND NOT BY 
PLEASURE—5. FOLLY OF SPIRIT. ST. JOHN OF 
THE CROSS THE MOST ABLE MASTER OF THE 
SPIRIT AND A DEEP PSYCHOLOGIST.—6. PLEASURE 
TAKEN IN CREATURES IS DEGRADING. THEY ARE 
CRUMBS FALLING FROM THE TABLE OF THE 
FATHER OF THE FAMILY.—7. EFFECTS OF PLEAS¬ 
URE. MOST BEAUTIFUL WORDS OF ST. JOHN OF 
THE CROSS.—8. DESIRE FOR PLEASURE IS NEVER 
SATISFIED; IT MAKES EVERYTHING USELESS AND 
DARKENS THE MIND—9. A SAFE RUDE. WORTHY 
ANSWER OF A SAINT. DICTATES OF CONSCIENCE. 
10. GREAT CHARACTERS.—11. CHILDISH MEN; 
THEY SUFFER MUCH.—12. THEY DOSE THE MERITS 
OF THEIR GOOD WORKS AND DESERVE SEVERE 
PUNISHMENT.—13. FIRST STIMULUS OF OUR AC¬ 
TIONS. NAMES WRITTEN IN HEAVEN.—14. HOW 
TO BE USEFUL TO ALL AND TO ONESELF. SAINTS 
DO NOT IMPAIR HUMAN NATURE,—15. MORAL 
PRUNING—16. THE PURE RECEIVE THE HUNDRED 
FOLD EVEN IN THIS LIFE.—17. THE LIFE OF ST. 
JOHN OF THE CROSS, A PRACTICAL DEMONSTRA¬ 
TION OF HIS TEACHING. 

1. The second precaution is: Never omit any 
practices, if they are conducive to the service of 
God, because you do not find any pleasure in 
them; neither observe them for the sake of the 


269 


270 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


pleasure you find in them, unless they are as nec¬ 
essary as those that are disagreeable. Otherwise 
you will find it impossible to acquire firmness and 
overcome your weakness . 

2. The principal motive of every human 
action, that which qualifies it and from which it 
derives its merit or its guilt, is the end or inten¬ 
tion with which man performs a deliberate action. 
These intentions can be reduced to two classes, 
pleasure or duty. We never perform any action 
with full deliberation without intending to secure 
some pleasure or fulfil some duty of conscience. 
Pleasure is the lowest end, while the most noble is 
duty. Pleasure is not bad in itself. God Him¬ 
self created it and attached it to the execution of 
nearly every human action, both corporal and 
spiritual, especially those that are more neces¬ 
sary to human society in general or to the life 
of each individual in particular. Providence, in¬ 
finitely wise, bestows this pleasure, that man stim¬ 
ulated thereby may not fail in his duty. 

But pleasure according to God’s intention is 
only a stimulus, a means, and not the object. 
Therefore, he who performs his actions only for 
the sake of the pleasure he finds in them, will al¬ 
ways act more or less disorderly. And as every 
disorder sooner or later redounds to the detri¬ 
ment of him who acts disorderly, pleasure is gen¬ 
erally hurtful to men who seek it as the principal 
object of their actions. 




MOTIVE OF PLEASURE. 


271 


3. To do something merely because it is pleas¬ 
ing, is a poor manner of acting. The brute beast 
has no other motive nor stimulus in its actions 
than instinct and pleasure. Moreover, such a 
manner of acting is dangerous, for the pleasure 
thus sought and satisfied creates effeminate habits 
which weaken man’s will, replace human reason, 
and finally enslave and degrade him. This is well 
exemplified in the history of Solomon. He be¬ 
sought the Lord with much insistence and humil¬ 
ity, not to give him what his eyes coveted and to 
deliver him from the desires of his heart. (1) 
The Lord heard his prayer and gifted his soul 
with great wisdom and prudence as well as sur¬ 
rounded him with riches and glory. But Solomon 
did not know how to deprive himself of anything 
that his eyes coveted or his heart desired. And 
so, notwithstanding his great prudence and his 
incomparable wisdom, he fell very soon into the 
most repugnant vices. He, who had erected and 
dedicated to the God of Israel the most magnifi¬ 
cent temple in the world, also built temples to 
the idols of Chamos and Moloch and adored 
them. (2) 

4. One of the greatest scourges that God can 
send to men and to nations is to let them go ac¬ 
cording to their pleasure. It was thus He pun¬ 
ished the infidelity of the ancient peoples, as St. 

(1) Ec. XXIII. 5. 

(2) 3 Kings XI. 7. 


272 HOLINESS TN THE OLOTSTER 

Paul says: Wherefore God gave them up to the 
desires of their heart. (3) After the same man¬ 
ner God chastised His chosen people: My people 
heard not my voice; and Israel hearkened not to 
me. So I let them according to the desires of 
their heart; they shall walk in their own inven¬ 
tions. (4) It is then most important that man 
should know how to conduct himself in actions 
whose pleasure may occasion so great evils. To 
regulate properly our natural inclination for all 
that is delectable, our holy Father gives us this 
precaution; he tells us that we must attach so 
very little importance to our tastes as never 
to omit any action, however disagreeable it 
may seem, provided it is for the service of God, 
nor that we perform any only for the pleasure we 
find in its execution. To do something merely 
for pleasure’s sake, is not worthy of man who 
should be guided by the dictates of conscience. 
Irrational animals have no other stimulus for 
their actions than instinct or pleasure, and there¬ 
fore the man who seeks in his actions nothing 
more than to satisfy his passions is rightly com¬ 
pared to brute beasts. And so the Holy Ghost 
warns us to be on our watch against men who 
blaspheme whatever things they know not; what 
things soever they naturally know , like dumb 
beasts; in these they are corrupted. (5) St. Paul 


(3) Rom. I. 24. 

(4) Ps. LXXX. 12, 13. 

(5) Jude I. 10. 



MOTIVE OF PLEASURE. 


273 


teaches the same: The sensual man perceiveth 
not these things that are of the spirit of God, for 
it is foolishness to him. (6) 

5. All who make pleasure the principal motive 
of their actions will soon lapse into this disgrace¬ 
ful folly of the spirit. St. John of the Cross is 
a perfect master in his exposition of this teach¬ 
ing. To teach us how to regulate well our natural 
inclination for pleasure, whether in the execution 
of our actions or in created things in general, he 
wrote, besides these precautions, his first and 
most extensive work. In the three books of the 
“Ascent of Mount Carmel’’ he marvelously ex¬ 
pounds this doctrine. Pleasures or, as he calls 
them, affections of the senses, the heart, the mind, 
the memory, and the will; different objects 
in which man according to each of his faculties 
can take pleasure; the manifold evils that natur¬ 
ally result from their disorders; the great advan¬ 
tages that accrue from their perfect control: 
these form the subject matter of this admirable 
work. 

His knowledge of the human soul as portrayed 
in the “Ascent’’ is astonishing. He studies all its 
movements and aims at elevating man to God; 
no nook or corner of the mind or heart of man 
escapes the searchlight of this keen observer. He 
has been rightly called the foremost psychologist 
of the world; nobody else ever gave so profound 


(6) Cor. II. 14. 


274 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


and clear an explanation of the relations that 
exist between God and man. His language does 
not seem to be the language of man. No quota¬ 
tion of human genius appears in these admirable 
pages, whereas quotations from the Bible are 
found on almost every page. It seems as if the 
divine language of the Bible alone could he as¬ 
similated by this holy Doctor; and this is not 
strange when we consider his heavenly life and 
the divine teaching he gives us in these books. 
He tells us that we must place our affection in 
God alone: for he who loves the creature becomes 
vile as the creature, and in one sense even viler, 
for love not only levels, but subjects also the lover 
to the object of his love. He therefore who loves 
anything beside God, renders his soul incapable 
of the divine union and of transformation in God. 

6. He tells us that to take pleasure in crea¬ 
tures is to lose our true liberty: He who loves 
the indulgence of his desires, stands before God, 
not as a son who is free, but as a person of mean 
condition, the slave of his passions . . .And con¬ 
sequently such a one will never attain to the true 
liberty of spirit attainable in the divine union, 
because slavery has no fellowship with liberty; 
liberty dwelleth not in the heart subject to de¬ 
sires, for that heart is in captivity, but in that 
which is free, the heart of a son. (7). 


(7) Ascent IV. 




MOTIVE OF PLEASURE. 275 

And then he explains how he who places his 
disorderly affection on creatures, is never satis¬ 
fied; because according to the ivords of the Gos- 
pel, all created things are but the crumbs which 
fall from the table of God. Thus they who go 
about feeding on creatures are rightly called 
dogs. These are always hungry like dogs, and 
justly so, because crumbs excite the appetite 
rather than appease hunger. They who gratify 
their desires are always morose and discontented 
like angry persons. (8). 

7. Several pages farther on explain how pleas¬ 
ures produce in the soul these five effects, to-wit: 
They tire, and torment, and darken, and defile, 
and weaken it. The gentle reader will surely not 
object to a lengthy passage from our Father, be¬ 
cause it contains all that is related to this mat¬ 
ter: It is evident that the desires weary the soul, 
because they resemble little children, restless and 
dissatisfied, who are always begging of their 
mother, now one thing, now another; they are 
never content. As one given to covetousness 
fatigues himself digging for gold, so the soul 
wearies itself in the pursuit of those things 
which the desires demand and though he may 
obtain them, yet the end is weariness , because 
he is never satisfied; and after all they are 
broken cisterns, which can hold no waters to sat- 


(8) II Ascent 1. 4. 


276 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


isfy his thirst. And so Isaiah says: “Is yet 
faint with thirst, and his soul is empty.” (8) 

The soul which yields to its desires is weary 
and faint, like one ill of burning fever, never 
at rest, and whose thirst increases while the 
fever lasts; for as it is written in the 
book of Job: “When he shall be filled, he 
shall be straightened, he shall burn, and every 
sorrow shall fall upon him.” Thus is it with the 
soul, wearied and afflicted by the desires; they 
wound it, agitate, and disturb it, hs wind does 
water, harassing it, so that it can never repose on 
anything, or in any place. 

Of such souls it is written, “The wicked are 
like the raging sea which cannot rest.” The 
heart of the wicked is like the raging sea, and he 
is wicked who does not subdue his desires. That 
soul which seeks to satisfy them wearies and tor¬ 
ments itself, and is like one who, in the pains of 
hunger, opens his mouth to be filled with the wind, 
and who, instead of being satisfied therewith, be¬ 
comes still more hungry, for wind is not his meat 
and drink. And so such souls as Jeremiah saw: 
“In the desire of his heart, he snuffed up the 
wind of his love.” . ... As the ambitious man is 
wearied in the day of disappointed expectations, 
so the soul with its desires and their fulfillment, 
for they make it more empty and hungry than it 
was before. The desires are, as it is commonly 
said, like fire which burns when supplied with 

(8) Is. XXIX. 


MOTIVE OF PLEASURE. 


277 


fuel, but which when the fuel is consumed, imme¬ 
diately dies out. In truth, the desire is in a mucr v 
worse condition: the fire is quenched when the 
fuel fails, but the desire ceases not with the mat¬ 
ter on which it fed while it raged, even though 
that be utterly consumed; for instead of ceasing, 
like the fire when the fuel is burned out, the de¬ 
sire pines away in weariness, for hunger is in¬ 
creased and food diminished. (9). 

8. The desires not only are a torment to him 
who did not know how to overcome them, hut 
they are also a great danger, for he will go from 
bad to worse. What in the beginning seemed 
only a slight and innocent passion, just a little 
gratification one was pleased to take in objects 
not at all sinful, will, if it is neglected and fos¬ 
tered, soon cause in the soul the ravages men¬ 
tioned by St. John of the Cross in the foregoing 
passage, and instead of a help they will become 
an impediment to our advancement on the road 
to perfection. As our holy Father continues: 
How deplorable is the ignorance of some who 
burden themselves with indiscreet penances, 
and other imprudent methods of devotion — vol¬ 
untary certainly—on which they rely, thinking 
such alone, without mortifying their desires in 
other matters, to be sufficient to lead them on to 
the union of divine wisdom. But this can never 

(9) Ascent VI. 

_ J 



278 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


be, if the desires are not diligently mortified. If 
these persons bestowed but half their labor on 
this, they would make greater progress in a 
month than they can now make in many years, if 
they persevere in their present ways. For as it 
is necessary to till the earth that it may bring 
forth fruit—for otherwise nothing will grow 
therein but weeds—so also is it necessary to mor¬ 
tify our desires, if we are to make progress to¬ 
ward perfection. Without mortification, 1 say it 
boldly, we shall make no progress toivard per¬ 
fection, nor in the knowledge of God and of our¬ 
selves notwithstanding all our efforts, any more 
than the seed will grow which is thrown away 
on uncultivated ground. 

We are not to rely on a clear intellect, or on the 
gifts received from God, and then imagine that 
any affections or desires we may indulge in will 
not blind us, nor cause us to fall into a worse state 
little by litle. Who would have thought that a 
man of perfect wisdom, filled with the gifts of 
God, as Solomon was, could have fallen away in 
his old age into such blindness and torpor of the 
will, as to build altars to so many idols and wor¬ 
ship them? (10). 

9. The only way to avoid all these evils is to 
fulfil perfectly the precaution of St. John of the 
Cross; we must accustom ourselves to overlook 
the pleasure or displeasure we may find in the 


(10) Ascent VIII. 


MOTIVE OF PLEASURE. 


279 


execution of our works. We must not perform 
them because we like them, nor leave them undone 
because we dislike them. Desires should not in¬ 
tervene at all in the actions of persons conse¬ 
crated to God. A superior once questioned a re¬ 
ligious whether he would like to go to a certain 
place; the excellent religious answered: I beg 
your Reverence not to ask what I like; but tell me 
what I have to do. Behold an answer worthy of 
a saint! 

To pay no attention whether the orders of 
our superior or the prescriptions of our rules are 
agreeable or disagreeable, but simply to perform 
them because our duty demands it, this requires 
great virtue and energy of character; and more 
especially when there is question of ordinary and 
humble actions which of themselves do not bring 
with them fame and glory. Those actions which 
honor us or bring with them fame and glory, 
naturally attract the desire of man to be known 
and honored. Such actions however are few, 
and there is seldom occasion to perform them; 
whereas the former till almost all our life and 
that of the greater part of men. In them there 
is nothing to entice nature that will oblige us to 
perform them. Therefore to perform them 
promptly, with perfection and contentment, at¬ 
tending only to duty, supposes a very great fidel¬ 
ity to the dictates of conscience. This requires 
such heroic effort against the strongest inclina¬ 
tions of nature, that only great and firm charac- 


280 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


ters or persons far advanced in perfection will 
be able to sustain the conflict. 

10. It is no trifle indeed to practise constantly 
what is little, merely matter of routine, or dis¬ 
pleasing to poor human nature, and at the same 
time hold always the spirit aloft with a heart so 
strong as never to weary or faint. Here where 
they are least seen are to be found the greatest 
characters and the holiest souls. Nobody has 
become perfect in the midst of the clamor and 
pursuit of worldly affairs. Great hearts have 
always been trained in a long life of humility 
and abnegation. Every one of them passed this 
way before being admired by the world. We 
have seen the Son of God walking this road, ex¬ 
pending eighteen years of His life in the solitude 
of Nazareth, laboring in the humble work-shop 
of a poor carpenter, and his Holy Mother en¬ 
gaged in a thousand litte domestic occupations. 
Those imitate Jesus and Mary who in all their 
actions seek before everything else the fulfilment 
of duty; here lies the secret of the will-power and 
the peace of heart we admire so much in persons 
of heroic virtue. 

11. But in those who seek in their actions the 
satisfaction of their desires or vain glory, who 
prefer what is more in accordance with their 
whims and avoid as much as they can what is 
disagreeable to their senses; such people behave 
like children for they do not yet enjoy the per¬ 
fect use of reason, nor can they act always for 


MOTIVE OF PLEASURE. 


281 


the sake of conscience; they are moved solely by 
the pleasure they experience in their actions. The 
habit of acting for pleasure only increases self¬ 
ishness, fosters pride, and makes man hard¬ 
hearted. 

Those who never perform anything without 
seeking their own satisfaction, notwithstanding 
their habitual haughtiness, are most unfortunate. 
They have no character, nor can they for any 
length of time enjoy the principal motive of their 
actions, the satisfaction of their desires. What 
is agreeable now, suddenly bcomes distasteful, 
and what appears honorable to-day, to-morrow 
will be dishonorable and even disgraceful. For 
this reason no self-seeker possesses any stability 
or firmness; his character is as changeable as his 
selfishness and his inconstancy. 

Pleasure is a bad counsellor on which we can 
seldom rely. Therefore St. John of the Cross 
warns us: Remember that your guardian angel 
does not always move the will to act, though he 
always enlightens your mind; therefore do not 
promise yourself sensible sweetness always in 
your works, because reason and understanding 
are enough. (11). Let our reason and conscience 
therefore be the only promoters of our actions, 
the more so, since those who occupy themselves 
much in attending to their whims also suffer very 
much; for as St. John of the Cross tells us, the 


(11) Max. 34. 




282 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


appetites are never satisfied, and the more they 
are cared for, the more do they mortify and tor¬ 
ment ns. Then man does not regulate his desires 
and pleasures, but he is ruled and mastered by 
them; therefore he says in another place: With¬ 
out this—without forgetting your tastes and pleas¬ 
ures—it is impossible to obtain constancy and to 
overcome your weakness. And again: Whenever 
you gratify your self-will a two-fold bitterness 
will follow; do not then desire to gratify it in 
anything. (12). 

12. On the other hand, whoever seeks his sat¬ 
isfaction in his works, loses the merit of them 
J>efore God. The gratification of his desires has 
been the only reward of his works; when he goes 
before God, the Lord will say to him: Thou hast 
received thy reward. Thou has performed in¬ 
deed some good works but thou has not done 
them principally for Me, though thy lips said so, 
but not thy heart. Thou hast performed some 
works of charity, but thou hast sought gratitude 
for them. Thou hast spoken well of Me, but here 
also thou hast sought thy own glory; and even in 
thy devotions and religious actions thou hast been 
more solicitous to satisfy thy sensible pleasure 
than to do my will. 

We not only lose the merit of our good works 
when we take a vain complacency in them, but 
the Lord is wont to punish us with terrible clias- 


(12) Max. 17. 


MOTIVE OP PLEASURE. 


283 


tisements of displeasure and sorrow; and hence 
St. John of the Cross says: It is therefore justly 
to he feared, whenever we rejoice in vanity, that 
God is looking on and preparing some chastise¬ 
ment for us, the hitter cup of our deservings; for 
the punishment of rejoicing is frequently greater 
than its pleasures. (13). 

13. Not to lose our time miserably even in the 
performance of those works that seem to be the 
best, let us observe carefully this precaution, let 
the desire of pleasing God be the primary motive- 
power of all our actions. For as the saint says 
in another place: The spiritual man must he very 
careful of the beginning of joy in temporal 
things, lest it should grow from little to great, 
and increase from one degree to another. The 
spiritual man, therefore, must suppress the first 
motions of this joy, keeping this in mind that 
there is nothing in which a man may rejoice ex¬ 
cept in serving God, in promoting His honor and 
glory, in directing all things to this end, in avoid¬ 
ing therein all vanity and not seeking his own 
comfort and pleasure in them. (14). We have a 
most beautiful example of this in the holy Gospel. 
Our Lord sent His seventy-two disciples to 
preach through the cities whither He Himself was 
to come, and said to them: Go; Behold I send you 
as lamhs among wolves. They, having fulfilled 


(13) III. Ascent, XIX. 6. 

(14) III. Ascent, XIX. 


284 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

their mission, returned with joy saying: Lord, the 
devils also are subject to us in Thy name. They 
were satisfied with the first fruits of their mission. 
But the Lord wished to regulate the joy of those 
good men and to raise it higher; therefore He 
said gently: 1 saw Satan like lightning falling 
from heaven. Behold, 1 have given you power to 
tread upon serpent and scorpion, and upon all 
the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt 
you . But yet rejoice not in this, that spirits are 
subject unto you; but rejoice in this, that your 
names are ivritten in heaven. (15). Our Divine 
Redeemer did not wish His beloved disciples to 
take complacency even in the miracles they per¬ 
formed in His name. He bade them to rejoice 
only because their names were written in heaven. 
In this and in the glory of God and the salvation 
of souls we must glory. 

14. If we observe this doctrine faithfully, we 
shall have full control over all our natural in¬ 
clinations, we shall enjoy deep peace of soul, and 
our most trivial actions will give much glory to 
God, and obtain great merit for ourselves and 
be useful to many. Therefore our holy Father 
says: The most delicate flower is the first to 
wither and to lose its fragrance; therefore take 
care you do not walk by the way of spiritual 
sweetness, for you will never be constant. Choose 
rather a robust spirit, not attached to anything, 


(15) Luke X, 3, 17-20. 


MOTIVE OF PLEASURE. 285 

and you will find sweetness and abundance of 
peace. Savory, sweet lasting fruit is found 
only in a dry and cold soil. (16). 

If this great master of the spirit seeks to deprive 
souls of all tastes and pleasures, not only of the 
illicit, but also of what is permitted good people, 
it is certainly not to deaden or stupify all their 
faculties. To harbor such a thought of the saints 
and especially of St. John of the Cross would be 
derogatory to them. It would make them inac- 
ceptable and even repulsive to every correct and 
sincere man. It would be to attribute to them 
the intent of mutilating human nature. But God 
is their witness, the saints are not so. They did 
not pretend nor practise any such thing, nor 
teach the same to others. How much less could 
this be the case with St. John of the Cross, whose 
soul was particularly enriched with delicate and 
sublime sentiments. 

15. The farmer mercilessly prunes the trees 
and leaves them in a pitiable condition. It is 
certainly not to quench the sap, but that being 
well directed, it may produce more abundant 
flowers and fruit. This is also the intention of 
this great master of the human spirit, which he 
apparently mutilates without mercy. He con¬ 
secrates a monumental work, or rather all His 
monumental works, to teach us how we should 
deprive each of our faculties and senses of things 


(16) Max. 38. 



286 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


which seem to he most expedient to them. In his 
invaluable treatises of the “Ascent of Mount 
Carmel” and of the “Dark Night of the Sense” 
and the “Dark Night of the Spirit,” he thor¬ 
oughly and wisely analyzes all the movements of 
the soul, to recommend to us in the strongest 
terms the abnegation of our faculties and senses. 

It is certain that if the reader does not under¬ 
stand well the mind of the saint, he will experi¬ 
ence a sensation of estrangement and discourage¬ 
ment; and this notwithstanding the incomparable 
beauties of style that are apparent in all these 
pages as well as the irresistible charm of so 
many delicate and profound thoughts of this 
thinker a lo divino. The reader must remember 
that the saint does not intend to stifle or deaden 
any one of our legitimate faculties. On the con¬ 
trary he wants to purify them from a thousand 
imperfections contracted in this world; and once 
purified, to develop themselves that, even here 
below man may with the assistance of divine 
grace, begin to manifest all the moral and intel¬ 
lectual beauties of which God has made him cap¬ 
able. 

16. Let us finish this long chapter with an¬ 
other passage of our holy Father where he clearly 
lays down bis teaching of abnegation: 

The second spiritual benefit of not rejoicing in 
sensible goods is great; and we may say of a 
truth, that the sensual becomes spiritual, the ani¬ 
mal rational, that man leads an angelical life , that 


PRECAUTION AGAINST THE FLESH 287 

the temporal and the human become heavenly and 
divine. As the man who seeks for pleasure in 
sensual things and founds all his joy upon them, 
ought not and deserves not to be called by any 
other name than this, namely sensual and animal; 
so the man whose joy is beyond them deserves 
the name of spiritual and heavenly. (17). This is 
the end of so much abnegation. He will now 
show us how each faculty and each sense, already 
purified, commence to enjoy even in this life 
their objects in a most wonderful manner. But 
the third fruit of this absolute abnegation is the 
great increase of the joys and pleasures of the 
will in this life; for as our Saviour said: “They 
shall receive a hundred fold.” Matt, xix, 29. If 
you will deny yourself one joy, our Lord will re¬ 
ward you a hundred fold spiritually and tempo¬ 
rally in this world; for one joy indidged in sensi¬ 
ble goods, you will have a hundred sorrows and 
afflictions. As to the eye, now purged from all 
joy in seeing, the soul receives joy, directed to 
God, in all that is seen, whether human or divine. 
As to the ear, purged from all joy in hearing, the 
soul receives joy a hundred fold, and that most 
spiritual, directed to God in all that is heard 
whether human or divine. The same observation 
applies to the other senses. For as all that our 
first parents said and did in the state of inno¬ 
cence in paradise, furnished them with means of 


(17) III Ascent, XXV. 2. 


288 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


sweet contemplation, because their sensual nature 
was ordered by and subject unto reason, so he 
also whose senses are subject to the spirit and 
purged from all sensible objects in their first mo¬ 
tions , elicits the delight of sweet knowledge and 
contemplation of God. 

To the pure, therefore, high things and low 
are profitable, and minister to his greater purity; 
while both the one and the other are occasions of 
greater evil to the impure. But he who does not 
repress the satisfaction of his appetites, will never 
enjoy the ordinary tranquillity of rejoicing in 
God, through the instrumentality of His creatures 
and His work. . . .On the other hand, he who is 
pure of heart, finds in all things that knowledge 
of God which is delicious, sweet, chaste, pure, 
spiritual, joyous, and loving. (18). 

17. All the life of our holy Father was a prac¬ 
tical demonstration of this admirable teaching. 
Although nobody was more austere than he in his 
practices, yet nobody could equal him in sweet¬ 
ness of spirit and gentleness of character. He 
sought abnegation for his senses and faculties 
only, and nevertheless very few souls, if any, 
were so full of intimate joy in God which wa<s 
apparent in all his words and works. Because 
his soul was continually overflowing with divine 
joys, he wrote such deep thoughts with such gen¬ 
tle words, that nobody in the Spanish language 


(18) III Ascent, XXV. 


MOTIVE OF PLEASURE. 28$ 

nor in any other language has ever surpassed 
him. He could say with the Apostle: “With 
Christ I am nailed to the Cross. f 9 But in the 
midst of my tribulations I am full of consolation 
and supreme joy: “For to me to live is Christ; 
and to die is gain.” (19). 

But we should never end, if we wish to copy 
every charming passage of our holy Father. Let 
us paraphrase the last of his precautions, for it 
needs no commentary. 


(19) Phil. VIII. 12 . 


CHAPTER XIX 


Ninth Precaution and the Third against the 

Flesh 


1. WORDS OF ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS.—2. TO PREFER 
SORROW TO PLEASURE.—3. THE MAN WHO AL¬ 
WAYS CONTROLS HIS SORROWS IS VERY GREAT.— 
4. HOW SUFFERING CAN BE CHERISHED.—5. SUF¬ 
FERING EXPIATES.—6. IT PURIFIES AND ADORNS. 
IT IS PURGATORY IN THIS LIFE AND A GREAT 
BLESSING OF GOD.—7. SUFFERING OBTAINS ALL 
THINGS FROM GOD. POWER OF TEARS.—8. SUF¬ 
FERING RENDERS US LIKE OUR LORD JESUS 
CHRIST.—9. THE CROSS IS THE SYMBOL OF SUF¬ 
FERING THROUGH LOVE.—10. INSTRUCTIONS ON 
SUFFERING GIVEN BY OUR LORD TO ST. TERESA 
OF JESUS.—11. TO SUFFER OR TO DIE. THE- SAINTS 
AND SUFFERINGS.—12. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE 
SAINTS AND OF WORLDLY PERSONS.—13. PERSONS 
CONSECRATED TO GOD SHOULD NEITHER IGNORE 
NOR DISLIKE SUFFERINGS.—14. FIRST CLASS OF 
SUFFERINGS.—15. SECOND CLASS.—16. VOLUNTARY 
SUFFERINGS.—17. WORDS OF ST. JOHN OF THE 
CROSS. 


1. Let the third precaution he that in all your 
spiritual exercises you will never fix your atten¬ 
tion on the sweetness of them nor attach your¬ 
self to it, hut rather on that which is difficult 
and painful, and accept it. If you do, you will 
never destroy self-love, nor acquire the love of 
God. 


290 




SUFFERING AND SORROW 


291 


2. The great ascetic of Carmel is not satisfied 
with what he recommended in the last precau¬ 
tion, that we do not attach ourselves to the pleas¬ 
ure we may find in the execution of our spiritual 
exercises. In the present precaution he wants us 
to prefer what is difficult and painful to what is 
delightful and easy; and not only to accept it with 
resignation, but also to cherish and embrace it, 
as something that is loved and appreciated. This 
is the remarkable teaching of this most tender 
lover of the Cross. These are the first lessons he 
gives those who wish to follow his doctrine. He 
begins counselling the soul which is about to as¬ 
cend the first steps of the mystical mountain of 
perfection, that every satisfaction offered to the 
* senses, which is not for God’s honor and glory, 
must he renounced and rejected for the love of 
Jesus Christ, who in this life had sought no other 
pleasure than doing the will of His Father, which 
was His meat, as He tells us Himself . For in¬ 
stance, if the pleasure of listening to anything 
which tends not to the service of God presents it¬ 
self, seek not that pleasure, neither give ear to 
what is said. If you are offered the sight, pleas¬ 
urable in itself, of things which do not lead you 
nearer to God, seek not that pleasure, and abstain 
from that sight . Ho the same also in conversa¬ 
tion and every other commerce of society. Prac¬ 
tise the same mortification with respect to the 
other senses as far as possible. (1). 


(1) Ascent XII. 4. 



292 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

This is in connection with the corporal senses, 
and in the same way our holy Father wishes to 
regulate the affections of the soul; for this purpose 
he gives the following celebrated maxim: Strive 
always not after that which is most easy, hut after 
that which is most difficult. 

Not after that which is most pleasant, hut after 
that which is most unpleasant. 

Not after that which giveth pleasure, hut after 
that which giveth none. 

Not after that which is consoling, hut after that 
which is afflictive. 

Not after that which ministers repose, hut after 
that which ministers labor. 

Not after great things, hut after little things. 

Not after that which is higher and precious, hut 
after that which is lower and despised. 

Strive not to desire anything, hut rather noth¬ 
ing. 

Seek not after that which is better, hut after 
that which is worse, and desire to he detached 
from all things, empty and poor for Christ’s sake. 
This state is to he embraced with a perfect heart, 
and the will must conform thereto. Because if 
our heart he truly engaged in these efforts, we 
shall in a short time attain to great joy and con¬ 
solation therein, doing our work orderly and with 
discretion. (2), 


(2) Ascent XIII. 6. 


SUFFERING AND SORROW 


293 


According to this ascetic doctrine, of which the 
last precaution is the synthesis, we should prefer 
always and everywhere what is difficult to what is 
easy; what is unpleasant, laborious, and trouble¬ 
some, to what is pleasant, easy, and consoling; 
what depresses and humbles us, to all that can 
honor and exalt us. He wants finally that when¬ 
ever the choice is left us, we elect what will mor¬ 
tify and humble us and leave to others what will 
please and honor. 

3. This doctrine is the highest recommenda¬ 
tion of suffering in whatsoever form it comes to 
us, physical or moral, corporal or spiritual. To 
bear sufferings with dignified patience and forti¬ 
tude when they are inevitable, and to face them 
manly when they come between us and our duty, 
should be, it seems, sufficient for virtue. That 
man is truly great and often performs real won¬ 
ders, whom no difficulty, hindrance or hardship 
can withdraw from his duties, and who proves 
himself so superior to suffering, that he executes 
promptly and cheerfully the most ordinary ac¬ 
tions in life. Whoever on account of suffering 
does not lose his peace and cheerfulness of heart 
nor his energy of mind, is really a superior soul, 
since suffering renders ordinary persons remiss 
in the fulfilment of their daily duties. It seems 
then that virtue should not exact from us more 
than that we rise superior to all hardships and 
suffering. 


294 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


4. But this does not satisfy St. John of the 
Cross. He wants us to entertain a real prefer¬ 
ence for suffering; he wants us to seek and em¬ 
brace it as a cherished object is sought and em¬ 
braced. But to cherish and embrace suffering 
and pain seems against nature itself. Of what¬ 
ever kind it may be, pain is always a want of 
something apprehended as good, or something 
that the sufferer esteems expedient for himself. 
And therefore St. Thomas Aquinas says, that 
pain is an evil to the sufferer. (3). 

But as the same holy Doctor remarks, suffer¬ 
ing though in itself an evil for the one enduring 
it, is very often the cause of great benefits; and 
in this sense it can be highly cherished and loved 
by those who understand its mission. A patient 
finds a drug very disgusting and bitter, and never¬ 
theless he desires to take it, because he believes 
that bitter medicine will restore his lost health, 
just as another patient smiles at the surgeon who 
is going to amputate one of his limbs, because he 
believes it necessary to lose a member of his body 
to save his life. The same happens with suffer¬ 
ing. No saint ever declared that a physical or 
moral suffering was in itself a desirable good. 
They loved suffering and recommended it to us as 
the cause of great advantages, which may be re¬ 
duced to the four following groups. 


(3) II. Q. XXXIX. a. 1. 


SUFFERING AND SORROW 


295 


5. First: Suffering expiates or sanctifies. For 
every disorder committed to satisfy any of our 
tastes or desires we contract a debt due to jus¬ 
tice. The greater the debt, the more intense was 
the disorderly pleasure. Therefore we read in 
the Apocalypse: As much as she hath glorified 
herself, and lived in delicacies, so much torment 
and sorrow give ye to her. (4). And this must be 
understood not only of great disorders, but also 
of that multitude of apparently insignificant 
faults which are so easily committed in our daily 
life. Very often we fail in minor duties, now to 
take some trifling pleasure, then to avoid certain 
hardships. And for each of these disorders how¬ 
ever small, we contract a proportionate debt of 
suffering or pain, for our Divine Redeemer tells 
us that on the great day of reckoning we all have 
to render an account for even the smallest pleas¬ 
ure we have taken in uttering an idle word. (5). 

The life of every man, however orderly it may 
seem, is full of these little responsibilities. There¬ 
fore David said: Evils without number have sur¬ 
rounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me, and 
I was not able to see . (6). None of these will go 
unpunished by divine justice: Every one of us 
shall render account to God for himself, (7); and 

(4) Apoc. XVII. 7. 

(5) Matt. XII. 36. 

(6) Ps. XXXIX. 13. 

(7) Rom. XIV. 12. 


296 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

fire shall try every man’s work. (8). For every 
disorderly affection, however light, we have to 
pass through the fire of patient love here on earth, 
or through the consuming fire in the next world. 
If man does not purify himself in this life by vol¬ 
untary penance; by accepting and supporting with 
resignation a suffering proportionate to his dis¬ 
orderly pleasures; a terrible justice will purify 
him afterwards, according to Ecclesiasticus: If 
we do not penance; we shall fall into the hands of 
the Lord. (9). It is incomparably easier to purify 
ourselves here than in the next world. Because 
here our sufferings are voluntary and free, and 
the Lord—infinitely good—overlooks the sins of 
men for the sake of a little sincere penance. 
Therefore our Divine Redeemer says: When 
thou goest with thy adversary to the prince, whilst 
thou art in the way, endeavor to he delivered from 
him; lest perhaps he draw thee to the judge, and 
the judge deliver thee to the exacter, and the ex- 
acter cast thee into prison. I say to thee thou 
shalt not go out from thence, until thou pay the 
very last mite. (10). 

It is true that our Lord satisfied for the sins of 
the world; but it is also true what St. Paul said 
to the Colossians: 1 rejoice in my sufferings for 
you, and fill up those things that are wanting in 


(8) Cor. III-13. 

(9) Eccl. II. 22. 

(10) Luke XII. 58, 59. 


SUFFERING AND SORROW 


297 


the sufferings of Christ , in my flesh. (11). It is 
evident that nothing except our co-operation is 
wanting to the sufferings of our Lord that they 
may be applied to us. Sufferings may also be 
cherished, because by bearing them with loving pa¬ 
tience they contain a great expiatory power. For 
this reason those who understand the value of suf¬ 
fering and who desire to appease divine justice 
offended by their sins, carefully seek and lovingly 
embrace all manner of suffering. 

6. Second: All pleasure more or less sinful, 
not only renders the soul a debtor to the divine 
justice but also deforms and weakens it. The ef¬ 
fects of the first disorderly affection admitted by 
Adam still remain in human nature, which has 
been profoundly impoverished and deformed, and 
unfortunately each one of us with our personal 
disorders increases the primitive deformity within 
us. 

Here, for instance, is a person in the conscious 
possession of youth and beauty, enjoying both tal¬ 
ent and grace; goodness and faith add to his natu¬ 
ral charms, his conversation delights and helps the 
soul to raise its thoughts to higher regions. But 
let us continue our attentive observation of this 
fortunate individual. If suffering in some shape 
or other does not come to his help, he will not be 
able to maintain himself on those heights. Enjoy¬ 
ing so much and not suffering lovingly he will nec- 


(11) Colos. I. 24. 


298 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


essarily deteriorate notwithstanding his enchant¬ 
ing gifts. Observe him after some time, and yon 
will see that he no longer attracts or satisfies, be¬ 
cause over and above these gifts there is noticed 
something that is not pleasing. And the closer 
you study him, the more you will notice something 
that renders him repulsive notwithstanding his 
many charms; he attracts and repels at the same 
time. The reason is that in this world the pleasure 
which is not sustained by suffering worthily borne, 
creates and fosters selfishness and pride. These 
vices, which are never long alone, of their own 
nature weaken and miserably deform a person. 

On the contrary, let us fix our attention on those 
persons whom suffering has tried, without ever 
discouraging them. Some are so generous that 
the more they are afflicted on earth, with the 
greater affection they look up to heaven; suffering 
helps them to expand and intensify their patience 
and love. Their natural gifts are preserved much 
longer, for they gradually transform them 
into others more beautiful and perfect. When the 
sun disappears from the horizon, it leaves the twi¬ 
light to illumine the mountains and the sky, a sight 
that produces such deep and ineffable sentiments 
in pure and refined natures. When suffering visits 
a soul that understands the meaning of pain and 
lovingly bears it, although it deprives it of many 
pleasures, it provides others far better and of a 
higher nature; for suffering frees the soul from 
selfishness, purifies it from the effects of every dis- 


SUFFERING AND SORROW 


299 


orderly passion, and enables it to love others with 
a deeper purity and honor, with liberty of spirit 
and perfection, thus imitating in some degree the 
blessed in heaven. 

But no person reaches such heights without hav¬ 
ing suffered and wept much. Suffering and love 
are the two wings that elevate the soul in this life; 
while enjoyment without suffering, stupifies; and 
suffering without love, embitters and degrades. 
Suffering sweetened and sustained by love is the 
necessary element to purify and embellish souls; 
and if they are not thus purified in this world, they 
will have to be purified in the next. Therefore St. 
John of the Cross wishes that the chosen souls of 
God suffer their purgatory in this world through 
the dark night of loving fire, as he styles it. 

Purgatory has for its object the purification of 
souls from the stains left by sin. Once the ef¬ 
fects of sin have been removed, the fire of purga¬ 
tory can have no more power over them; it can¬ 
not in the least molest them, even if they were in 
the midst of the devouring flames: For the fire 
would have no power over them if they were per¬ 
fectly prepared for the kingdom of God and union 
with Him in glory , and if they have no faults for 
which they must suffer, for these are the matter on 
which that fire seizes; when the matter is con¬ 
sumed there is nothing more to burn. So it is 
here, when all imperfections are removed the suf- 


300 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


fering of the soul ceases, and in its place comes 
joy as deep as it is possible in this life. (12). 

Consequently, it is a very great blessing of God 
for the valiant soul that can suffer its purification 
in this world; it shortens its purgatory and 
reaches to such a purity in this life through this 
loving fire, that the fire of purgatory can have 
no power over it. Let us listen again to our holy 
Father: As the dark and material fires in the next 
life, so the loving, dark, and spiritual fires here, 
purify and cleanse the predestinate. The differ¬ 
ence is that in the next world they are purified by 
fire, and here, purified and enlightened by love. 
(13). With this exalted idea of suffering, it is 
not strange that the saints were so anxious to 
suffer. 

7. Third. The imperative power of suffering. 
Eightly has it been said that there is nothing in 
the moral order so powerful as tears; when they 
are sincere—and it is difficult to counterfeit them 
—they are the language of a soul that loves and 
suffers. For those who suffer without love, do not 
weep but ordinarily blaspheme. And this lan¬ 
guage of tears, when it is sincere, has such power 
of insinuation that there are few good people who 
can resist. God has willed that the heart should 
naturally yield before supplicating and patient 
suffering, and especially when it is also affection- 


(12) II Dark Night X. 

(13) Dark Night XII. 1. 


SUFFERING AND SORROW 301 

ate. What a smile cannot obtain tears can. And 
what is not given to one who asks smilingly, is 
granted to another who begs with tears. 

It is the same with God. He wishes us to know 
His inclination through the goodness we find in 
the human heart. He declares that He delights to 
be with the sufferer whom He denies nothing when 
he approaches Him: Because thy heart was soft¬ 
ened and wept before me: 1 also have heard thee, 
said the Lord . (14). 

Solomon says: Though in the sight of men 
they suffered torments, their hope is full of im¬ 
mortality. (15) And St. Paul exclaims joyfully: 
For which cause 1 suffer these things; but I am 
not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed. 
(16). Our Lord proclaimed blessed the poor in 
spirit, those who mourn, those that hunger and 
thirst after justice, those that suffer persecution 
for justice sake, those that are reviled and out¬ 
raged ; in fact all those who sutler. He promised 
splendid rewards for each suffering borne with 
resignation. In Ecclesiasticus He offers special 
blessings to those who are merciful with the suf¬ 
ferer: Deliver him that stiffereth wrong out of 
the hand of the proud; and thou shalt be as the 


(14) II Paralip. XXXIV. 27. 

(15) Wisd. III. 4. 

(16) 2 Tim. I. 12. 


302 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


obedient son of the Most High, and He will have 
mercy on thee more than a mother. (17). 

Almost all the miracles narrated in the holy 
Gospel were wrought through the compassion our 
Lord felt for the sufferers. A desolate widow 
who accompanies her only son to the grave; a 
tender and affectionate father who weeps over 
his dead daughter; two bereaved sisters who 
mourn inconsolably over the grave of their 
brother. These three great sorrows moved the 
tender Heart of Christ to perform the three great 
miracles of restoring life to the dead, because 
God never slights the groanings of a trusting, 
pure, and loving heart. He is almighty but He 
is overcome by the weak sufferer. Therefore He 
tells us by His Prophet: The mountains shall be 
moved and the hills shall tremble; but my mercy 
shall not depart from thee, 0 poor little one, 
tossed with tempest, without all comfort. (18). 
Nothing is so efficacious with God as suffering 
borne with love. 

8. Suffering renders us like our Lord Jesus 
Christ, for according to St. Paul, God admits to 
His glory those who are made conformable to 
the image of His Son. (19). And this likeness 
must be in suffering; for it is Christ Himself 
Who said to all: If any man will come after me, 
let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, 

(17) Eccl. IV. 9, 10. 

(18) Isaias LIV. 10. 

(19) Rom. VIII. 9. 


SUFFERING AND SORROW 


303 


and follow me. (20). For he that taketh not up 
his cross and followeth me, is not worthy of me. 
(21). Behold why the saints considered it a spe¬ 
cial grace to be able to suffer something for 
Christ; as St. Paul said to the Philippians: Unto 
you it is given for Christ, not only to believe in 
Him, but also to suffer for Him. (22). 

For men of great faith this life is of value only 
inasmuch as they can suffer for God, a favor not 
granted to the blessed in heaven. This same 
thought is beautifully expressed by St. John of 
the Cross: Desire to become somewhat similar 
to this, our great God, who was humbled and cru¬ 
cified for us, because our life here is not good if 
we do not imitate Him. What does he know who 
does not know how to suffer for Christ? When 
there is question of sufferings, the greater avid the 
more painful they are, the greater is the good 
fortune of him who suffers. (23). 

9. Our Lord Jesus Christ was raised on the 
Cross to redeem the world with a Jove so infinite 
and with sufferings so bitter that no man will ever 
fathom them; since then the cross is the symbol 
of love and of suffering, and hence its irresistible 
attraction for the saints. St. Paul wept to think 
that there were still enemies of the cross of 
Christ (24), and only in the cross would he admit 

(20) Luke IX. 23. 

(21) Matt. X. 38. 

(22) Phil. I. 29. 

" (23) Max. 85, 86. 

(24) Phil. III. 18. 


304 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


glory and joy: God forbid that I should glory, 
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; by J 
whom the world is crucified to me, and 1 to the 
world. (25). Our Father St. John of the Cross 
did not know how to live without the cross; so 
he wrote to one of his spiritual children: It is 
expedient that like our Beloved the cross never 
fail us until we die the death of love. He regu¬ 
lates our passions or sufferings according to our 
love of what we must esteem, that we may offer 
greater sacrifices and be worthy of still more. 
(26). He calls the cross the pilgrim’s staff nes- 
essary to walk with ease and comfort on the 
road of life; the arms with which we have to con¬ 
quer our enemies; the tree of life under which 
Jesus espoused human nature, and now espouses 
the souls that love Him. 

10. In confirmation of all this let us recall 
again that most beautiful instruction given by 
our Lord to His favorite daughter, our Mother 
St. Teresa of Jesus: Dost thou think, daughter, 
that merit consists in enjoying? It consists only 
in acting, suffering, and loving. Thou hast never 
heard that St. Paul enjoyed heavenly joys more 
than once, while he suffered many times: Thou 
seest how my whole life was full of suffering; 
only on Mount Tabor hast thou heard of me in 
glory. Do not suppose when thou seest My 

(25) Gal. VI. 14. 

(26) Letter 10. 


SUFFERING AND SORROW 


305 


Mother holding Me in her arms, that she enjoyed 
that happiness unmixed with heavy sorrows. 
From the time she heard Simeon speak to her My 
Father gave her full knowledge of what I was to 
suffer. The great saints who lived in the desert, 
as they were guided by God, so also did they per¬ 
form their great penances, and moreover they 
ivaged serious war with the devil and with them¬ 
selves; and they passed many days without any 
spiritual consolation whatever. Believe Me, My 
Daughter, how can I show thee greater love than 
by desiring for thee what I desired for Myself? 
Consider these wounds, thy sufferings ivill never 
reach so far. This is the way of truth; thus shalt 
thou help me to mourn over the ruin of those who 
are in the world; for thou knowest how all their 
desires, cares, and thoughts tend to the contrary. 
. . . .Behold now the reward of suffering, as thou 
on account of thy health wert not able to speak 
to Me, I have spoken to thee and consoled thee. 
(27). 

11. Having been so divinely instructed, it is 
not strange that St, Teresa could not live without 
suffering. Hence her beautiful motto: To suffer 
or to die. With such a high idea of suffering it 
is easy to understand the vehement desires of 
the saints for sufferings. They feared the jus¬ 
tice of God, not so much for themselves as for 
others, whom they, because they were saints, 


(27) Relations XXXVI. 


306 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

loved most sincerely; and they knew that through 
suffering it was easy to satisfy and appease di¬ 
vine justice. They deplored most bitterly the 
deformity sin leaves on the soul, while they 
realized the great power of suffering to purify 
souls, and to obtain the divine blessings they felt 
were necessary. And lastly they were not igno¬ 
rant that man’s greatest glory consists in the 
perfect imitation of Christ, the Man of sorrows , 
and acquainted with infirmity (28), which resem¬ 
blance will not be accomplished in heaven if it is 
not commenced and continued here on earth. 

12. The saints were therefore thoroughly op¬ 
posed to the thoughts and desires of the world; 
they cordially loved suffering and sought eagerly 
what the world hates and avoids by all means-; 
they esteemed as wise, honorable, and happy 
what men consider madness, disgrace, and ig¬ 
nominy. This high esteem of suffering easily ex¬ 
plains how all that the saints and men of great 
faith did was logical and harmonious in them, 
their thoughts, words, and deeds. It likewise ex¬ 
plains the thoughts and actions of worldings, 
whose point of view is directly opposed-to that 
of the saints. 

13. We who have the honor of having conse¬ 
crated ourselves to God, and who have been so 
many times at the feet of the Savior, we can 
not plead ignorance of the great mystery of suf- 


(28) Isaias LIII. 3. 


SUFFERING AND SORROW 307 

fering nor of the wonderful graces God has con¬ 
cealed under.suffering; neither can we refuse to 
accept what is so repugnant to our poor human 
nature, we who took the resolution of bearing 
them patiently when we embraced the religious 
state. To go back even in affection would be 
cowardice, and moreover an injury to the Divine 
Savior who first trod the thorny road of suf¬ 
fering, besides losing our eternal reward for 
Jesus Christ has already said to us: No man 
putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, 
is fit for the kingdom of God. (29). And again: 
The kingdom of heaven sufferetli violence , and 
the violent bear it away. (30). The road which 
leads to heaven is very narrow and rugged and 
if we do not wish to slip, to fatigue through dis¬ 
couragement, it is necessary to lean upon the 
staff of suffering and mortification. 

Now we can perfectly understand why our holy 
Father says that it is not enough to bear pa¬ 
tiently what is bitter and distasteful, and is per¬ 
haps an impediment in meeting our obligations, 
but we ought to seek what is hard and painful and 
to embrace it as expedient for overcoming sensu¬ 
ality; otherwise we shall not conquer self-love 
nor obtain the love of God. If we fulfil with 
ordinary care and great fidelity this precaution, 
we shall soon reach a very high perfection. For 


(29) Luke IX. 26. 

(30) Matt. XI. 12. 


308 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


the sake of greater clearness we shall now sum¬ 
marize all that has been said in this chapter and 
reduce to three points whatever sufferings or 
hardships we may experience. 

14. First of all those which are directly im¬ 
posed by our state of life. Second. Those that 
are the results of the personal circumstances of 
each one. Third. Those that depend on our free 
will. 

To the first class belong all the hardships en¬ 
tailed by the fulfilment of the rule and the obedi¬ 
ence due superiors. Such are fasts, penances, 
retired life, abnegation of the will and the judg¬ 
ment, a thousand privations, long hours of prayer, 
etc., all these are part of the religious state. Each 
one must well understand this and therefore fre¬ 
quently meditate upon his obligations before he 
binds himself by vow to any religious institution. 
Nobody can dispense himself from fulfilling all 
the duties inherent to his profession, except in 
particular cases and by legitimate authority, 
for however hard the obligations may be they are 
inherent to his vocation. Consequently, whoever 
would try to avoid these hardships, would betray 
signs of weakness in his vocation. 

If they displease him from the outset, why did 
he bind himself by vow to observe them? If at 
first they seemed excellent, why does he now 
esteem them so trifling, that rather than suffer a 
little inconvenience he abandons his duty? To 
him could be addressed the words of St. Paul to 


SUFFERING AND SORROW 


309 


the Galatians: Are you so foolish, that, whereas 
you began in spirit, you would now be made per¬ 
fect by the flesh? (31). The first degree of morti¬ 
fication must consist then in accepting all those 
vexations and hardships which come directly from 
the observance of the rule. Whoever is habitually 
negligent in this, and tries for specious reasons 
to escape such obligations as assistance at prayer, 
etc., such a one is worthy of our sincere pity. He 
has not climbed one single step of the high moun¬ 
tain of religious perfection. These precautions 
cannot be applied to him, for our holy Father ad¬ 
dresses himself to religious determined to ascend 
the rugged path of religious perfection. It is evi¬ 
dent that those who do not try to observe the 
mere letter of the law, have not yet begun to mount 
in spirit the mystic Carmel; they will hear those 
terrible words mentioned above: “If you did not 
come to fulfil carefully the obligations of your 
profession, there was no reason to enter the Or¬ 
der; you should rather have remained in the world 
seeking its pleasures, honor and reputation and 
full liberty. 

15. To the second class of sufferings belong all 
those hardships that do not depend on our own 
will nor directly on the rule of our institute, but 
are due to the circumstances in which we are 
placed; like sickness, inconveniences of place, oc¬ 
cupation, etc. These different circumstances often 


(31) Gal. III. 3. 


310 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


provide ns with a very useful kind of penance. 
Without failing against the letter of the rule, we 
may try to avoid some of them, especially those 
that depend on superiors for a dispensation, at 
least partially; thus trying to obtain an occupa¬ 
tion which pleases us in place of one that is dis¬ 
pleasing, or obtain a transfer to another place, etc. 

The last precaution of St. John of the Cross 
is an excellent remedy in all these cases. It is 
proper never to refuse any hardships which pre¬ 
sent themselves, but to accept them with a gen¬ 
erous heart. The soul resigned to take whatever 
hardships it meets on the way, cuts off every sel¬ 
fish inclination and if it perseveres in the face of 
contradictions, will soon reach the highest summit 
of the mount of perfection. 

16. It is clear then that he is most fortunate 
who has lost the fear of suffering, and who know¬ 
ing and understanding its inestimable value, loves 
and seeks it, especially those sufferings that are 
of a spiritual and moral nature; the harder the 
blows against pride and selfishness the better, pro¬ 
vided courage does not fail. This is a most excel¬ 
lent penance and highly recommended by our holy 
Father in his precaution, when he bids us seek 
what is most irksome in all things and this espe¬ 
cially in spiritual and moral things. Corporal 
penance is good, and particularly that which the 
rule commands. To seek other voluntary pen¬ 
ances may be a little dangerous; the blows against 


SUFFERING AND SORROW 


311 


self-love are never so, on the contrary, they are 
very useful to body and soul. The person who 
bears them without discouragement and bitterness 
is admirable, whereas he who has advanced so far 
as to desire and seek them, belongs to the family 
of saints; because suffering generously borne and 
even coveted, possesses a wonderful ascending 
power. 

To such persons suffering is sweet and profit¬ 
able, because suffering enables them to go more 
deeply into the thicket of the wisdom of God and 
because acute suffering brings an intimate and 
clear understanding. If we but once understood 
how impossible it is to reach the wisdom of the 
manifold riches of God, without passing through 
the thicket of interior and exterior suffering in 
which the soul places its consolation and there¬ 
fore desires it, thereby to enter into the treasures 
of wisdom whose door is the cross. This explains 
why so few desire to enter, although many desire 
the delights of these treasures of wisdom. 

17. How can we better conclude this commen¬ 
tary than by transcribing a page which contains a 
complete synthesis of the admirable ascetic teach¬ 
ing of this great lover of the cross and most wise- 
master of the spirit. Commenting on that pas¬ 
sage of the Gospel in which our Lord says: If 
any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and 
take up his cross , and follow me. For whosoever 
will save his life y shall lose it; and whosoever shall 


312 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

lose his life for my sake and the Gospel, shall save 
it. (32). St. John of the Cross writes: 0 that 
some one would teach us how to understand, prac¬ 
tise, and feel what is involved in this profound les¬ 
son of self-denial given us by our Lord Himself, 
that spiritual persons may perceive how dif¬ 
ferent, on this road, their conduct ought to be from 
that which many of them think to be right! Some 
consider that any kind of retirement from the 
worid, and correction of excesses to be suf¬ 
ficient; others content with a certain degree of vir¬ 
tue, persevere in prayer and the practice of mor¬ 
tification, but they do not rise to this detachment 
and poverty, or self-denial, or spiritual pureness. 
. . . They think it enough to deny themselves in 
the things of this ivorld, without annihilating 
themselves, and purging away all self-seeking in 
spiritual things. Hence, it comes to pass that 
when any of this solid devotion presents itself to 
them, which consists in the annihilation of all 
sweetness in God, in dryness, in distaste, in trou¬ 
ble, which is the real spiritual cross, and the 
nakedness of the spiritual poverty of Christ, they 
run away from it as from death itself. . . . They 
render themselves spiritually enemies of the cross 
of Christ, for true spirituality seeks for bitter¬ 
ness rather than sweetness in God, inclines to 
suffering more than to consolation, and to be in 
want of everything for God rather than to pos- 


(32) Mark VIII. 34, 35. 


SUFFERING AND SORROW 


313 


sess; this is to love God. (33). Truly our Lord 
Jesus Christ is very little known even by those 
who consider themselves to be His friends. God 
grant that the assiduous reading of the works of 
this great lover of suffering may awaken in our 
souls the love of the Redeemer and His cross. 
Let us read them frequently and assiduously 
meditate on them; and though our virtue may 
not reach so high as to cause us to desire and 
seek suffering, we shall however obtain a little 
more strength to bear with resignation and merit 
at least those sufferings that cannot be avoided. 

(33) II. Ascent VI. 


CHAPTER XX 

The Precautions of St. John of the Cross and 
the Spirit of Carmel 

1 PROVIDENTIAL MISSION OF ST. JOHN OF THE 
CROSS—2. THESE PRECAUTIONS CONTAIN HIS 
FUNDAMENTAL AND GENERAL DOCTRINE.—3. HE 
DOES NOT CONSIDER THEM MERE COUNSELS, BUT 
PRECEPTS TO BE OBSERVED. THEY ARE THE 
GENUINE EXPRESSION OF THE SPIRIT OF CAR¬ 
MEL.—4. THE SPIRIT OF A CONGREGATION IS EM¬ 
BODIED IN ITS FOUNDERS. THAT OF ELIAS SWEET 
AND AUSTERE. CONTINUOUS PRAYER AND GREAT 
ENTERPRISE FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.—5. CAR¬ 
MELITE SKETCHES.—6. ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS 
AND ST. TERESA HAVE THE SAME SPIRIT, THOUGH 
IT MAY NOT BE APPARENT. THE WORLD DOES 
NOT UNDERSTAND THEM.—7. THE AUTO-PORTRAIT 
OF BOTH SAINTS.—8. GENTLENESS OF OUR HOLY 
FATHER.—9. CHARACTER OF ST. TERESA. WHY 
SHE UNDERTOOK THE WORK OF REFORM.—10. 
WHAT IS IMMUTABLE AND MUTABLE IN THE 
SPIRIT OF CARMEL?—11. IDEAS MUST NOT BE CON¬ 
FUSED—12. THE ESSENTIALS OF THE SPIRIT OF 
CARMEL CONTAINED IN THESE PRECAUTIONS. 
ALL OF THEM CAN BE OBSERVED BY EVERYBODY. 
THEY ARE ENOUGH TO SANCTIFY US.—13. THEY 
FACILITATE THE FULFILLMENT OF OTHER DU¬ 
TIES.—14. ALL OF US HAVE NEED OF TAKING THEM 
WELL TO HEART.—15. WELL FIXED IN OUR CON¬ 
SCIENCE. FOR THIS PURPOSE WE CAME TO THE 
ORDER.—16. THE SPIRIT OF CARMEL AND THE 
DAUGHTERS OF ST. TERESA.—17. THE LITTLE 
FLOWER. THE “ASCENT OF MOUNT CARMEL” AND 
THE “PRECAUTION.”—18. RELIGIOUS.—19. THIRD 
ORDER. SECULAR PERSONS AND THIS PRECAU¬ 
TION. A LITTLE HEAVEN ON EARTH. FQJJR 
MAXIMS TO A RELIGIOUS. 

1. St. John of the Cross did not fonnd a re¬ 
ligions Order. But he was one of the principal 


SPIRIT OP CARMEL 


315 


factors in the renovation of the most ancient 
Order of Carmel, where he was already pro¬ 
fessed, when instigated and guided by the great 
St. Teresa of Jesus, he commenced the glorious 
reform of Carmel. He had been formed accord¬ 
ing to the spirit of the old Prophetic Order. This 
marked vocation to which he so perfectly adapted 
and so entirely consecrated himself, like every 
great person who has a providential mission to 
fulfil, was not to establish new practices in the 
religious life, but to revive in all its pristine 
splendor the ancient spirit of the Order of the 
Blessed Virgin. 

Consequently, in the instructions given by him 
to his first disciples is found the spirit of the 
Order to which Divine Providence called him, for 
the purpose of renewing the fervor of the old 
inmates of Carmel. It is enough to follow him 
from the moment he met St. Teresa of Jesus in 
Medina del Campo until his death, to be convinced 
that this was the predominant idea to which St. 
John of the Cross consecrated all his energy. To 
found new convents and to instruct by means of 
his writings and spiritual direction the souls who 
dwelt in them, this was the labor to which that 
privileged spirit devoted itself. 

2. The fundamental doctrine of a general 
character which the holy Father gives as appli¬ 
cable to all who wish to live the spirit of Carmel, is 
to be found in his celebrated Precautions on which 


316 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


we have just commented. His mystic works are 
dedicated to the privileged persons who are lead¬ 
ing a life in accordance with the Gospel or the 
religions state, and who aspire to a very high 
degree of perfection. It is well known that few 
reach so far. The “Ascent of Mount Carmel ,’ 9 
the first of these works, is of more or less general 
character; it will be read with much profit by all 
who desire to attain some religious perfection, 
though they may have not reached nor perhaps 
ever will reach any degree of supernatural con¬ 
templation. Nevertheless, our holy Father de¬ 
votes this book to souls highly privileged within 
the religious state, as he tells us in the preface: 

My principal object is not to address myself to 
all, but only to certain persons of our holy Order 
of Mount Carmel, of the primitive observance; 
friars as well as nuns, who by the grace of God 
are on the pathway of this mount. It is at their 
request 1 have undertaken my task. They, in¬ 
deed, already detached from the things of this 
life, will the better understand this doctrine of 
detachment of spirit. 

On the other hand the Precautions contain gen¬ 
eral principles of most complete perfection, which 
are not only proper but necessary to every re¬ 
ligious person. They do not suppose that the 
person for whom they are intended is raised to 
any extraordinary degree of prayer or contem¬ 
plation, but is animated by the good will of at¬ 
taining religious or evangelical perfection. In 


SPIRIT OF CARMEL 


317 


the preface to this book our saint remarks: If 
he will do this with ordinary care and without 
other efforts or other practices, at the same time 
carefully observing the obligations of his state, 
he will advance rapidly to great perfection, obtain 
all virtues, and attain unto holy peace . Then in a 
few pages he teaches all that a religious needs 
to know and practise to obtain religious perfec¬ 
tion: Without other efforts or other practices 
than those prescribed here, he will acquire all 
virtue. 

3. He considers these precautions not as mere 
advice which one can take or leave at will, but 
as real precepts of virtue which he believes neces¬ 
sary; for very often while formulating them he 
tells us: If you do not observe this, you will 
never become a good religious. In no other way 
can you get rid of the imperfections and escape 
the evils which result to your soul from the inter¬ 
course with men; for having forgotten this a 
great many religious in the way of perfection are 
ruined by the devil. 

From all this we can infer that these precau¬ 
tions were in the mind of the holy writer, a brief 
compendium of all that persons desirous of ob¬ 
taining evangelical perfection must necessarily 
practise. They are a brief abridgment of the 
genuine religious spirit, and this is the sole ex¬ 
planation for the present commentary. 


318 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


4. There only remains now to study the char¬ 
acteristic of this religions spirit, to see how per¬ 
fectly it harmonizes with the spirit of these pre¬ 
cautions. The first principle and perfect model 
of the religious spirit is our Lord Jesus Christ. 
The holy Gospel is the fundamental rule of re¬ 
ligious institutions; but the holy Prophet Elias 
had already outlined in himself and in his dis¬ 
ciples the first strokes of religious perfection, 
and therefore he is considered the Father and 
Founder of the monastic life. And so in the 
most ancient Order of Carmel which recognizes 
and venerates him as its Father and Founder, 
must be found the distinctive characteristics of 
the true religious spirit. That of Elias, the first 
Parent of the Order of Carmel, is one of great 
austerity and ineffable suavity, of continuous re¬ 
tirement and prodigious enterprise. Course skins 
formed his vesture, the desert was his home, 
and his food what the ravens brought him. From 
those vast solitudes he contemplated in a beauti¬ 
ful symbol the grandeur of Mary Immaculate; and 
long before anybody else he venerated and caused 
others to venerate, the most pure Mother of 
chaste love and sweet hope. In the food and 
drink served him by the angel under a juniper 
tree on the mountains of Juda, he contemplated 
a perfect type of the Sacrament of love. Not¬ 
withstanding this ardent affection for solitude 
and conversation with God, whenever necessity 
compelled him, this man of God came out of the 


SPIRIT OF CARMEL 


319 


depths of the desert to chastise the blasphemer, 
to rebuke kings and tyrants, and to remind the 
people of the fulfilment of their duties. The Al¬ 
mighty seems to have put into his hands all the 
elements of creation; to nobody before him had 
God given the power of raising men from the 
dead; he called fire down from heaven as often 
as it was necessary to prove his mission; he com¬ 
manded the clouds not to send a drop of rain over 
Israel for three years and six months; later he 
ordered them to send fertilizing rains and they 
obeyed him. (1) 

5. The self-same is the spirit of the Order 
of Carmel; these are the characteristics of all 
great religious personages, whatever may be the 
order to which they belong. Any new Ernest 
Hello who could and who wished to write “ Physi¬ 
ognomies of Saints and Personages of Religious 
Orders,” could present to his readers a most 
beautiful collection of religious physiognomies, 
and in all of them the characteristic spirit of Elias 
would be apparent. 

Let me be permitted to present a few of these 
great figures who have so highly honored the re¬ 
ligious life. Here is St. Benedict who flees from 
people and hides himself in the desert, that 
nobody should hear about him, and notwithstand¬ 
ing it was he and his monks who saved Christian 
civilization in Europe. The melifluous St. Ber- 


(1) III Kings, XVII, XVIII, XIX. 


320 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


nard, so humble, so retired, so austere, of whom 
it has been said that he alone bore all the weight 
of his century. The humble Brother of Asisi, 
sweet friend of the birds and of flowers, but at 
the same time possessed of such an energetic 
character and of such wonderful activity, that 
he was the mainspring of the religious, social, and 
moral revival of the Middle Ages, and whose in¬ 
fluence after so many centuries is even today most 
powerfully felt in the world. 

There is a St. Andrew Corsino, so humble, so 
retired, and if you wish so over cautious, that 
through fear of being honored with the episcopal 
dignity he fled and hid himself like a terrified 
child; and yet later on he became one of the 
greatest figures of the episcopate in the Middle 
Ages, the right hand of Pope Urban V, and a suc¬ 
cessful peacemaker of the agitated Italian cities. 

St. Peter Thomas, the austere, humble, and re¬ 
tired religious of Condon, a man of familiar col¬ 
loquies with the Queen of Heaven, and afterwards 
the most prudent counsellor of the Crusaders, the 
learned Patriarch of Constantinople, and the 
zealous apostle of the East. St. Angelo, a miracle 
of penance, passed five years hidden in the same 
desert which Jesus sanctified by His fast of forty 
days. This great Thaumaturgus who resuscitated 
several dead by a single touch of his mantle, be¬ 
came a most zealous apostle who converted in¬ 
numerable sinners and vindicated outraged vir¬ 
tue, and finally had the ineffable happiness of 


SPIRIT OF CARMEL 


321 


being martyred for the truth in the same pulpit 
from which he had so energetically exposed public 
corruption. Then there is St. Albert, the true 
Apostle of Sicily, a man of austere penance, with 
an estatic soul enjoying familiar intercourse with 
the Infant Jesus. St. Simon Stock, who passed 
twenty years entirely forgotten in the deserts of 
Great Britain, was one of the most brilliant gen¬ 
iuses of the ancient University of Oxford. He 
traveled through province and kingdoms evangel¬ 
izing souls, erecting churches and monasteries, 
and finally obtained from the Immaculate Queen 
of Heaven through the Scapular, the most tender 
and consoling protection that man ever received 
from the Mother of God. 

6. We can observe the same spirit in the two 
heavenly Reformers of Carmel. The old spirit 
of Elias was revived in all its vigor and perfec¬ 
tion in St. Teresa of Jesus and in St. John of 
the Cross. In both the spirit is identical. But 
its elements do not appear at first sight with the 
same intensity and harmony in our holy Mother 
and in our blessed Father. 

In our Mother, her charms as woman and as 
saint joined to her marvellous activity, cloak her 
great austerities and her intimate and ordinary 
intercourse with God. In our Father, the rigor¬ 
ously methodic and almost scholastic exposition 
of his severe teaching, his penitential life, and his 
affection for solitude, partially hide the exhaust- 


322 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

less activity of liis spirit and the rich treasure of 
tenderness and love which filled his soul. 

Men are easily reconciled and readily admit 
the holiness and dignity of St. Teresa, because 
her incomparable charms of woman and writer, 
of a person of society and of business, do not 
permit them to see her austere doctrine and con¬ 
duct and her wonderful prayer. Neither can they 
believe that the penitent solitary of Duruelo, the 
author of the “Precautions” and of the “Dark 
Night of the Soul,” was a man gifted with unusual 
activity and with a heart richly endowed with 
tender love. Notwithstanding this, the spirit of 
both is exactly the same; both were cast in the 
same mould. The “Way of Perfection” and the 
“Mansions” or the “Interior Castle” can be com¬ 
pared to the “Ascent of Mount Carmel,” the 
“Dark Night,” and the “Spiritual Canticle” of 
St. John of the Cross, and it will be noticed on 
the one hand that the womanly and saintly traits 
of St. Teresa are charmingly interwoven with the 
greatest austerities of the religious life; on the 
other we perceive that the rigors of the solitary 
ascetic do not entirely conceal the vehement 
ardors of the man of fire, all inflamed with the 
love of God and of man. 

7. Our holy Mother presents virtue as some¬ 
thing lovable, easy, and agreeable; but the essen¬ 
tial part of her doctrine is ardent love for suf¬ 
ferings, while her whole life was a miracle of 


SPIRIT OP CARMEL 


323 


rigor and penance. For her this life had no at¬ 
traction, except insofar as she could suffer and 
work for the love of God and the neighbor. She 
gives her own portrait in the following words: 
Those who truly love God, love cdl that is good, 
favor all that is good, praise all that is good; they 
join always with the good, they love only the\ 
truth and things worthy of love . If the love of 
God is a true love, it is impossible to hide it. (2) 

Our holy Father on the other hand always pre¬ 
sents himself as fleeing from men, he placed all 
his affections in suffering. At the same time this 
ecstatic saint is most active, he founded and gov¬ 
erned many houses of prayer, fostered among his 
disciples the missionary spirit, and wrote many 
books which are still leading innumerable souls 
to a closer union with God. 

He too portrays himself when he writes: Devout 
souls run with youthful vigor. They run in many 
ways and in various directions—each according 
to the spirit which God bestows and the vocation 
He has given—in the diversified forms of spirit¬ 
ual services on the road of eternal life, which is 
evangelical perfection. (3) These men will shed 
their heart’s blood for him who serves God, and 
will help as much as they can those who serve 
Him. So great was St. John’s energy that, plac¬ 
ing his whole trust in God, he was never discour- 

(2) Way of Perf. XXXX. 

(3) Spir. Cant., Canticle XXV. 


324 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


aged. This is his most beautiful thought: Heav¬ 
enly hope attains as much as it hopes for . 

8. His spirit is at one and the same time ener¬ 
getic and amiable. It is true, that his character 
seen from afar, seems more that of a hermit who 
flees from people than that of an apostolic man 
who tries to make himself all to all to gain all. It 
is certain that the famous “path to nothing,” 
traced on his symbolic mountain to reach the 
summit of perfection, causes fear and discourage¬ 
ment, when it is not well understood. But at the 
same time he tells us that the Divine Shepherd 
passed, and as long as He lives in His Sacra¬ 
ment, is still passing over the roughness of this 
mountain and is climbing these paths in search of 
His beautiful shepherdess; by which name the 
gentle poet understands the whole of humanity; 
and so he sings with a tenderness that nobody 
ever has surpassed: 


I 

A shepherd is alone and in pain, 

Deprived of all pleasure and joy, 

His thoughts on His shepherdess intent, 

And his heart is by love most cruelly torn. 

II 

He weeps, not because he is wounded with love 
And his distress brings him no pain, 

Though a wound is made in his heart, 

But he weeps because he thinks he is forgot . 


SPIRIT OP CARMEL 


325 


III 

His beautiful shepherdess, so does he think, 

Has forgotten him; that thought alone 
Makes him suffer in the land of the stranger, 
And his heart is by love most cruelly torn. 

IV 

The shepherd exclaims, “Ah wretch that I am, 
For I am abandoned and left. 

My presence is shunned by my love, 

And my heart for her love is most cruelly torn” 

V 

At last he was raised on a tree, 

Where he opened his beautiful arms; 

On it he died, 

His heart by love most cruelly torn. 

Ah, what does it matter -that he teaches a 
severe doctrine who can think and express him¬ 
self thus! Who can so tenderly and worthily rep¬ 
resent the august person of the Redeemer and the 
whole of humanity! His must have been a heart 
filled with an ineffable love towards God and his 
neighbor, and must necessarily be gifted with a 
great activity to work for God and for men; be¬ 
cause love, when it is perfect, is a powerful stim¬ 
ulus as St. Paul says: The charity of Christ 
presseth us. (4) 


(4) II Cor. V. 14. 


326 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


The Ecstatic Doctor of Carmel was most severe 
with himself, but kind and gentle to every one 
else. He did not pretend to minimize the doc¬ 
trine of Jesus Christ, which is really very 
austere. But he enveloped and softened it with 
the loving tenderness of his heart. He diligently 
cultivated an intimate intercourse with God, be¬ 
cause he knew well that man must seek strength, 
the secret of success, from heaven. The fruit of 
his prayer appeared in doing all he could, and he 
could do. much, for the glory of God and the ben¬ 
efit of his neighbor. 

9. Likewise it was this twofold purpose that 
induced St. Teresa to begin the reform of Car¬ 
mel; here are her own words: I waited on our 
Lord always with my poor prayers, and got my 
sisters to do the same, and to have a zeal for the 
good of souls, and for the increase of the Church; 
they always edified every one who conversed with 
them, and herein my longings were satisfied. (5) 
It was her earnest wish that the fruit of our pray¬ 
ers and of all our penances should be the desire 
of doing good to every one. And again: After 
four years—I think a little more—there came to 
see me a Franciscan friar, Father Maldonado, a 
great servant of God, having the same desires 
that I had for the good of souls. He was able to 
carry his into effect, for which I envied him 
enough. He had just returned from the Indies . 


(5) Foundations I. 5. 


SPIRIT OF CARMEL 


327 


He began by telling me of the many millions of 
souls there perishing through want of instruction, 
and preached us a sermon encouraging us to do 
penance, and then went his way. I was so dis¬ 
tressed because so many souls were perishing that 
I could not contain myself. I went to one of the 
hermitages, weeping much, and cried unto our 
Lord, beseeching Him to show me, when the devil 
was carrying so many away, how I might do 
something to gain a soul for His service, and how 
I might do something by prayer now that I could 
do nothing else. I envied very much those who 
for the love of God, could employ themselves in 
this work for souls, though they might suffer a 
thousand deaths. Thus, when I am reading in 
the lives of saints how they converted souls, 1 
have more devotion, more tenderness, and envy 
than when I read all the pains of martyrdom they 
underwent; for this is an attraction which our 
Lord lias given me; and I think He prizes more 
one soul, which by His mercy we have gained for 
Him through our prayer and labor than all the 
services we can render Him. (6). 

10. Behold here the vigorous Carmelite spirit; 
it is a union of great austerity and ineffable 
sweetness; a spirit commenced in Elias, contin¬ 
ued in all the Carmelite saints, and acquiring its 
perfect personification in St. Teresa and in St. 
John of the Cross. This Carmelite spirit is to 
last through all generations, from St. Elias till 


328 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


the end of the world; it has to live in different 
times and under changed circumstances, to be 
appropriated by austere men as well as by most 
delicate virgins. Consequently, it must contain 
in itself something immutable which is its sub¬ 
stance or essence, and which at the same time 
can be so mutable, so accommodating, that with¬ 
out being changed or lost it can adapt itself to 
different classes of persons as well as to differ¬ 
ent times, climates, and nations. 

The first or essential part of this spirit must 
be immutable, intangible, under the penalty of 
our ceasing to be what we are. In both physical 
and moral things there are essential conditions, 
apart from which the thing will cease to be what 
it was. But what is not essential, only expedient, 
what is necessary for specified times and circum¬ 
stances, this can be modified by legitimate author¬ 
ity according to the needs of time and place. 

11. To confuse these ideas in any religious in¬ 
stitute, would entail fatal consequences. To mis¬ 
take what is immutable and essential for what is 
circumstantial and mutable, or vice versa, would 
suffice to throw into disorder all the energies of a 
corporation, to make its very existence impos¬ 
sible, except in determinate circumstances. A 
mistaken and narrow standard would result in 
condemning an institution to perpetual barren¬ 
ness; the greatest efforts of its best members to 
accommodate themselves to the variable circum¬ 
stances, would necessarily render their work in- 


SPIRIT OP CARMEL 


329 


efficacious; since the institution, notwithstanding 
that its origin and its end is from God, depends 
upon human agency for its activity. 

12. It is then only the essentials of the re¬ 
ligious spirit that are contained in the booklet 
known as the Precautions of St. John of the 
Cross. If one frequently meditates on these in¬ 
structions, it will be seen that there is not one 
which is not very necessary for the acquisition of 
solid virtue and evangelical perfection to which 
all those who have consecrated themselves to God 
are bound to aspire. And there is no religious 
person whatever may be his condition, who can¬ 
not observe perfectly each and every one of them, 
notwithstanding the circumstances of place, time 
and occupation. Prelates and subordinates, the 
healthy and the infirm, all can observe these pre¬ 
cepts of our holy Father. 

Let us add that these Precautions are like the 
strong and invigorating element of the Carmelite 
religious spirit, in which all the different prac¬ 
tices of the religious life can be moulded. Re¬ 
ligious men and women, Tertiaries of all kinds 
and even seculars who are lovers of perfection, 
can most perfectly appropriate the robust spirit 
of the Precautions . It is certain that whoever 
observes them exactly, will the better fulfil his 
other special obligations. For as St. John of the 
Cross says: He who keeps faithfully these in¬ 
structions delivers himself from all the impedi¬ 
ments which created things put in his way , and 


330 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

defends himself against the wiles and deceits of 
the devil . 

But it is not enough to observe some and 
neglect others, for the enemies against whom they 
are intended cannot be conquered separately. 
And therefore, if we do not conquer the three, we 
shall never perfectly conquer one; and if we con¬ 
quer one, we shall also conquer the others in the 
same proportion . Persons who take these instruc¬ 
tions to heart will fulfil exactly the rest of their 
obligations, since these instructions far from being 
an obstacle will prove a powerful incentive. There 
is no circumstance in life where some or several 
of them cannot be practised at the same time. 
Blessed is he who takes them well to heart, fov 
without any other practices or exercises of virtue 
he will soon attain to perfect peace of soul, or as 
St. John of the Cross puts it: He will enjoy the 
peaceful refreshment of the Holy Ghost. 

13. The Carmelite Sister loving the teaching of 
her holy Father and longing to fulfil it, will accom¬ 
modate herself to any place, occupation, or char¬ 
acter; for the contradictions which may present 
themselves will only be excellent opportunities to 
practise what she, a child of the great saint, has 
well taken to heart. And the Carmelite Fathers 
and Brothers who have in like manner taken well 
to heart all and every one of these precautions, 
will easily accommodate themselves to the various 
circumstances in which their duties may place 
them. Then we can do and bear all things with 


SPIRIT OF CARMEL 


331 


resignation and even with pleasure, and however 
adverse the circumstances may be, they will pro¬ 
vide us with excellent opportunities to exercise 
these precautions. Regular observance with its 
monotony affords us always and everywhere op¬ 
portunities for sacrifices, little in themselves but 
continuous and very pleasing to God. In our rela¬ 
tions with the neighbor, whether in the exercise 
of our ministry or in social intercourse, the re¬ 
membrance of these counsels will make us less 
human and more apostolic, then neither the vain 
adulations of the rich nor the often unpleasant 
intercourse with the poor, will be able to withdraw 
us from our duty; there will be no pride in our 
success, no envy at that of others, nor any de¬ 
pression in our downfalls or contradictions. 

14. For persons who have reached or who 
expect to reach a very high degree of contempla¬ 
tion, these precautions will serve as a counterbal¬ 
ance that they may not be lost in a world of fan¬ 
tastic ideals. They are none the less needed by 
those who never deviate from the simplicity and 
monotony of a regular and obscure life, to pre¬ 
vent them from falling into weariness and de¬ 
spondency. They are however most necessary 
for those who are ordinarily occupied with exter¬ 
nal works; for whom they will be a powerful 
reminder to oblige them to live within the sanc¬ 
tuary of their own hearts, lest calling and in¬ 
ducing others to fulfil their duties, they them¬ 
selves become, according to the expression of St. 


332 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

Paul: as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. 
The stars of the firmament in order to move rap¬ 
idly and harmoniously without mutually hamper¬ 
ing each other, require that their centripetal force 
be in perfect harmony with their centrifugal 
force. The same harmony of forces is necessary 
in the heaven of the human soul. These precau¬ 
tions always calling man within to those mys¬ 
terious mansions of the spirit, establish also this 
perfect harmony in all the actions of man. 

Whoever will take these precautions deeply to 
heart and not deviate much or little from the road 
marked out by them, will unfold all the energies 
of his spirit without any danger and with much 
advantage to himself and others, and this in 
whatever circumstances he may be placed. He 
will work faithfully, purely, and entirely for God, 
and therefore will always bear within himself a 
full kingdom, as our holy Father says: The work 
purely and entirely done for God from a pure 
heart, makes a full kingdom for the Master. (6) 

15. It will cost us a little trouble to take these 
precautions well to heart, because they presuppose 
very solid virtue; but for us who desire to live 
according to the spirit of Carmel, it is absolutely 
necessary to have them at least well set in our 
conscience, in order that if we do not use them 
as wings to mount to a very high perfection, they 
may at least serve as a plank which we may seize 


(6) Max. 21. 


SPIRIT OF CARMEL 


333 


in moments of crisis and tempest in the religious 
life. 

There can be no trial however hard, for which 
one or other of the precautions will not be appro¬ 
priate. We know that we must observe each and 
every one of them, for it is not enough to defend 
ourselves against one of our enemies and allow 
the others to attack us at their pleasure. St. John 
of the Cross considers them so necessary that 
without them, he says, we cannot obtain peace of 
soul. With these precautions well fixed in our con¬ 
science, it will be easy in moments of trial to imag¬ 
ine we hear our holy Father saying to us kindly 
but firmly when we complain: Why do you com¬ 
plain, my son? Why is this work so burdensome 
to you? Why do you find this companion so try¬ 
ing? Is it because your self-love has been humbled 
and wounded? Why have you no taste for your 
devotions and your occupations? It was to suffer 
all these hardships, that you promised to follow' 
Jesus over the dolorous road, bearing your cross; 
and to do it with perfection you came here to the 
house of God . If it was not for this, then there 
was no reason to enter religion and you should 
have remained in the world, seeking its consola¬ 
tions, its honors, and its reputation and liberty. 
These severe words cannot fail to be a powerful 
inducement for all those who have retained the 
spirit of their vocation, to continue the struggle 
with their weaknesses and discouragements. 


334 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


16. The robust and sound spirituality con¬ 
tained in these precautions is a continual attrac¬ 
tion drawing us inwardly, and at the same time a 
marvelous expansion toward all that is for the 
glory of God and the good of souls, it contains so 
many exterior austerities and such ineffable in¬ 
terior sweetness. This is the spirit preached by 
St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross and which 
they handed down to their children. Their suc¬ 
cess was wonderful, for the reform of Carmel, 
especially in the first century after its reforma¬ 
tion, was simply marvelous. The Discalced Sis¬ 
ters proved that they were the true daughters of 
these two great saints. St. Teresa used to say 
that she did not want her daughters to be woman¬ 
ish at all. With manly fortitude they not only 
established themselves throughout Spain, but 
crossing the frontiers and even the seas, they rec¬ 
tified the opinion of many faint-hearted men, and 
demonstrated to them, as they have continued to 
the present, that the daughters of St. Teresa and 
of St. John of the Cross are able to cultivate lux¬ 
uriantly in any clime and in any nation, the most 
delicate flowers which the great Saint planted in 
her first little garden of St. Joseph at Avila. 

Any observer who visits in any nation a con¬ 
vent of the Discalced Carmelite Sisters will have 
occasion to notice in many of them the delicate 
spirit of our holy Father. There is scarcely a 
convent of our Sisters where there is not some 


SPIRIT OF CARMEL 


335 


privileged soul of God. The world knows it and 
therefore it appreciates them. 

17. In our day Divine Providence ordained 
that one of these delicate flowers of the Carmelite 
garden should be shown to the world. This our 
lack-a-day world, notwithstanding its deviation 
from the right, feels a strong desire for genuine 
spirituality. It is never weary admiring the Little 
Flower, as she is called here, or the Little Flower 
of Jesus as she is styled by the editors of her 
‘ 4 Autobiography ,’’ which has reached many edi¬ 
tions in almost all the languages of the world. 
From ample experience and knowledge we do not 
exaggerate when we say, that there are through¬ 
out the gardens of Carmel many, perhaps hun¬ 
dreds, of Little Flowers, as beautiful and deli¬ 
cate as that of Lisieux. That Providence conceals 
them from the gaze of the world does not lessen 
their intrinsic beauty. In connection with this 
Little Flower of Jesus, of whom we are an ardent 
and enthusiastic admirer, we confess we do not 
see anything extraordinary in her; she is a per¬ 
fect daughter of St. Teresa and of St. John of the 
Cross and nothing more. 

We do not know if the critical history or the 
intimate life of this admirable soul is written or 
not. But we dare to venture an opinion without 
fear of its being gainsaid. Let us lay aside for 
the moment her characteristic notes which are due 
to her class, her formation, and her education, and 


336 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

which do not affect the essentials of virtue; so 
also the special strokes which are the result of 
temperament, of environment; and especially 
let her be divested of the accoutrements in which 
she has been enveloped, and which form so great 
a charm for many of the admirers of the Little 
Saint. Now let our attention be paid only to the 
interior of this soul: let us study her fundamental 
thoughts which are the genuine expression of her 
conscience and her moral personality, and it will 
be seen that they are nothing else than the doc¬ 
trine of St. John of the Cross well understood and 
put into practice. She herself says that she drew 
much light from the works of St. John of the 
Cross and that during some time the only food of 
her soul was the writings of our holy Father. (7) 
For us the substance of that admirable History, 
her Letters and Poetry are only the Ascent of 
Mount Carmel and the Precautions well taken to 
heart, and perfectly lived, and then narrated by 
a young French lady of the educated class. 

18. The first Carmelite Fathers and Brothers 
certainly did not remain behind their Sisters. 
They also assimilated perfectly the spirit of their 
holy Father and holy Mother. Men of great 
prayer and gifted with the spirit of enterprise, 
they filled the deserts with penitents and with in¬ 
numerable volumes the libraries, and extended 
throughout the world their apostolic zeal and mis- 


(7) History of a Soul VII. 


SPIRIT OF CARMEL. 


337 


sionary spirit. The Venerable Fathers Jerome 
Gratian, Thomas of Jesus, Peter of the Mother of 
God, John of Jesus, Dominic of Jesus Mary, and 
so many others, were doubtless true children of 
our holy Mother and our holy Father. Their spirit 
of penance and interior recollection were in per¬ 
fect harmony with their great zeal which pro¬ 
duced such marvelous works. A biographic his¬ 
tory of these great men,'well written and purified 
from the bad taste of the times in which they were 
composed, would be of untold value for our emula¬ 
tion and encouragement. 

The Reform of Carmel passed during the last 
two centuries through many vicissitudes. Politi¬ 
cal disturbances during those times did more harm 
to Carmel than to any other order, due to the very 
nature of its spirit. Formed of elements appar¬ 
ently antagonistic, it is easy to mistify or misun¬ 
derstand it, and mistakes in this order of ideas 
are always fatal. But notwithstanding the adver¬ 
sity of the times, the work of St. Teresa of Jesus 
and of St. John of the Cross among men is not 
yet dead, it is reviving with admirable freshness 
and vigor. Our Missions in America and Asia 
are today as flourishing as ever. The sons of St. 
Teresa and of St. John of the Cross erected many 
temples during the last quarter of the preceding 
century in honor of God and the most Blessed 
Mother of Carmel. 

Vocations are not wanting either, notwithstand¬ 
ing the great austerities of the Order. Hundreds 


338 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


of young men and maidens with vigorous mind 
and ardent heart desire to imitate these two great 
figures of Carmel. With a pure heart and bearing 
the cross for their model and symbol, they hope to 
sustain what is commenced and to open up new 
horizons. They will surely obtain it if they im¬ 
press well on their heart and their spirit the ro¬ 
bust asceticism of these Precautions . Here is 
found as it were in germ the whole Carmelite 
spirit. Let us assimilate well all that is contained 
in the Precautions, and there is no doubt that all 
the activities and energies which the spirit of the 
sons of St. John of the Cross can contain, will be 
unrolled in perfect harmony and with most cer¬ 
tain results for the glory of God and their own 
sanctification. 

19. The Discalced Fathers and Mothers of our 
Lady of Mount Carmel are not the only children 
of St. John of the Cross; we are the first born, but 
not the only sons. We must also include those 
multitudes of persons who, known as Tertiaries, 
belong to the different religious institutes aggre¬ 
gated the first Order of Carmel, and who desire 
to live according to the Carmelite spirit. All these 
persons, whatever may be their condition in life, 
can apply to themselves the perfection contained 
in these admirable precautions. There is not one 
counsel among them which cannot be applied most 
expediently to every religious person in whatever 
circumstance in life. In fact all that has been said 


SPIRIT OF CARMEL. 


339 


in this Commentary is applicable to all religious 
persons of whatever institution or congregation. 

20. Moreover, there are very many persons 
who, living in their own homes, are affiliated to 
the Order of Carmel as Tertiaries or as Members 
of the Confraternity. And it is evident that they 
will not be satisfied with merely having their 
names inscribed in their respective registers, but 
they too desire to live according to the spirit of 
Carmel, for it is in the spirit and not in the regis¬ 
ter that true affiliation consists. The best means 
to live according to that spirit is to plan out a 
rule of life according to these wise maxims of St. 
John of the Cross. They are perfectly adaptable 
to secular persons no less than to those who live 
in communities. Like all works of great merit, 
this booklet of our holy Father is of universal 
application. 

Not to interfere in other people’s affairs unless 
obliged by justice or charity; to refrain from the 
immoderate desire of riches; to restrain the heart 
within severe laws that it may not be poured out 
and wasted, but that it may preserve its heat and 
energy: are things certainly most suitable for 
every one whatever may be his state or condition. 
And this is what St. John of the Cross recom¬ 
mends in his first three precautions. 

The spirit of obedience to the law and to those 
who in some way are our superiors, and this with¬ 
out any consideration to their personal qualities, 
attending only to the fulfilment of what they com- 


340 


HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 


mand us, is an absolutely necessary condition if 
peace and perfect harmony are to reign, not only 
in religious houses, hut also in homes and in 
human society in general. Without the spirit of 
submission it is impossible to preserve peace any¬ 
where, no matter what the social condition of 
the persons implied. This perfect submission de¬ 
grades nobody, on the contrary it dignifies; be¬ 
cause here a man does not subject himself to the 
caprice of another man but to the dictates of his 
conscience, which commands us to obey those who 
hold any legitimate authority. But this is not pos¬ 
sible without great humility, rightly understood 
and truthfully practised. This is the lesson con¬ 
tained in the three precautions against the devil. 

What renders family life and in general human 
intercourse more difficult is the difference of char¬ 
acter among persons. Now St. John of the Cross 
teaches us how we should diminish and even en¬ 
tirely destroy this great enemy of peace among 
men. He wants us to consider these disturbing 
differences of character, as the most excellent 
and efficacious means given us by a loving 
Providence, as a help to purify us from our de¬ 
fects. The home where these precautions are well 
observed, will most certainly be a happy mansion 
of peace, a bit of heaven here on earth. There 
are some such homes. Would to God that there 
were many more such asylums of pure domestic 
love, sanctified by abnegation and continual sac- 


SPIRIT OF CARMEL. 


341 


rifice! Then social peace would be possible and 
even comparatively easy. 

Finally, the last precaution commands us to 
learn bow to despise pleasure and make ourselves 
superior to suffering. We are even told to desire 
suffering, considering the great power that 
Divine Providence has given to suffering to aid in 
our sanctification. 

Whoever meditates a little on the precautions 
will understand quite easily that they are ex¬ 
pedient not only for persons living in religious 
institutions, but also for all those who love strong 
and sound morality; in a word for all those who 
know how to appreciate the charming beauties of 
Christian virtues. 


FOUR MAXIMS TO A RELIGIOUS FOR ATTAINING 
PERFECTION 

Your holy charity (1) has ashed much of me in 
a few words. This would require much paper 
and time, and not having either of them at my 
disposal, 1 shall endeavor to summarize and write 
only some points or maxims which will contain 
much in few words; whoever observes them per- 
fectly will attain to high perfection. Whoever 
would desire to be a true religious and live ac¬ 
cording to the obligations he has promised to God, 
to advance in virtue and enjoy the peace and con¬ 
solations of the Holy Ghost, has to exercise him¬ 
self most carefully in the following four maxims: 
1st. Resignation; 2nd. Mortification; 3rd. Exer¬ 
cise of virtues; 1th. Corporal and spiritual sol¬ 
itude. 

(1) This is the manner of addressing the brethren. 


342 


FIRST MAXIM. 


To observe the first, which is resignation, it is 
proper he should live in the monastery as if no 
other person lived in it; therefore he should never 
interfere in thought or word with things that 
happen in the community nor with individuals, 
nor desiring to notice what is good or evil, nor 
even their manners. Were the world to sink, he 
shoidd not notice or interfere with them in order to 
preserve his soul in peace; remembering the wife 
of Lot, who because she looked back to observe the 
clamor of those who perished, was converted into 
a hard stone. It is necessary to observe this with 
great energy, for it will free him from many sins 
and imperfections, he will enjoy peace and tran¬ 
quility of soul, and make great progress before 
God and mam. Remark this well, for it is most 1 
important; many religious for not observing this, 
not only were not distinguished for their exercise 
of virtuous actions, but always went back, falling 
from bad to worse. 


343 


SECOND MAXIM. 


To practice the second maxim, which is mortifi¬ 
cation, and to profit by it, it is proper for him to 
understand well this truth, that he came to the 
convent to be polished and exercised in virtue, 
and that he is like the stone which is hewn and 
polished before being set in the edifice. So he 
must know that all those who live in the convent 
are officers of God who will polish and exercise 
him in mortification. Some will polish him by 
words, saying things he does not wish to hear; 
others by actions, doing things he does not like to 
suffer; others by manners, being rough and harsh 
in themselves and in their manners; others again 
by thought, making him think or feel that they do 
not esteem or love him. All these mortifications 
and hardships he has to bear with interior pa-> 
tience, holding his tongue for the love of God, un¬ 
derstanding that he came to the convent for no 
other purpose than to be polished and thus be¬ 
come worthy of Heaven. If it was not for this, 
there was no reason for him to become a religious, 
he should rather have staid in the world seeking 
its pleasures, honors, and liberty. 

This second maxim is absolutely necessary if 
a religious wants to fulfil his duties, attain true 


344 


MAXIMS 


345 


humility, interior peace, and the consolations of 
the Holy Ghost. If he does not observe it, he will 
not know how to be a religious, nor why he came 
to the convent; nor ivill he know how to seek Christ 
but himself alone; nor will he find peace of soul; 
nor will he cease committing many sins, disturb¬ 
ing himself often; for occasions will never be 
ivanting in convents. God does not permit them 
to be wanting, as He brings soids there to exercise 
and purify them like the gold in the fire; it is ex¬ 
pedient then that there be hardships and tempta¬ 
tions from men and devils and fire of anguish and 
afflictions. In these things a religious must ex¬ 
ercise himself, always trying to bear them pa¬ 
tiently and resigned to the will of God, and not in 
such a way that instead of receiving God f s ap¬ 
probation and blessing, he merits His reprobation 
for not carrying the cross of Christ with patience. 
Many religious for not understanding that they 
came into religion for this purpose, bear annoy¬ 
ances badly; but at the time of reckoning these 
will be much confounded and humiliated, 


THIRD MAXIM. 


To practise the third, which is the exercise of 
virtue, it is necessary to he constant in the works 
of religion and obedience without any regard to 
the world, doing things only for God. He should 
perform them in this manner and without any de¬ 
ception, never fixing his attention on the pleasure 
or displeasure he finds in them, hut only on the 
motive of doing them for God. Thus he must do 
all things with the single object of thereby serv¬ 
ing God. 

To act with this fortitude and constancy, and 
speedily to acquire virtue, let him always be care¬ 
ful to incline more to what is hard than easy, 
more to what is rigorous than mild, more to what 
is painful and irksome in its performance than 
what is delightful and pleasant, and not to choose 
the lightest cross because it is a light burden; the 
heavier the burden, the lighter it becomes if car¬ 
ried for God’s sake. Let him also aim that his 
brethren be preferred to him in all easy works, 
putting himself always in the lowest place and this 
with all his heart, because this is the way of be¬ 
coming spiritually great, as Our Lord tells us in 
His Gospel: Who humbles himself will be exalt¬ 
ed (2). 


(2) Luke XIV. 11. 


346 


FOURTH MAXIM. 


To practise the fourth, which is solitude, it is ex¬ 
pedient to consider all wordly things as if they 
did not exist; and if at any time he must unavoid¬ 
ably deal with them, let him act with as much 
detachment as if they did not exist. 

Let him have no concern about external things 
in the world, for God has delivered him from 
them; the business that can be transacted by a 
third person, let him not do it by himself, for it 
is best for him not to wish to see anybody nor to 
be seen by any one . And let him remember ivell 
that if God on the day of reckoning will exact a 
strict account for every idle word from an ordin¬ 
ary Christian, hoiv much more so from a religious 
whose life and actions are consecrated to Him! 

This does not mean that he is to neglect the du¬ 
ties of his office, or any other his superior may 
give him, on the contrary he must fulfil them with 
all diligence and care; but it means that he per¬ 
forms them in such a manner that while executing 
them he preserves himself free from any fault; this 
is what God and his superior demand of him. 
For this purpose let him be constant in prayer, 
not ceasing even in the midst of corporal exer- 
sises; whether he eat, whether he drink, or speak, 
or deal with seculars, or does any other thing, let 


347 


348 HOLINESS IN THE CLOISTER 

him always long for God, having his heart repos¬ 
ing in Him. This is most necessary for interior 
solitude, which does not permit the sold to set its 
thoughts on anything which is not God or con¬ 
nected with Him, which demands forgetfulness of 
all things that are or happen in this miserable 
life. Let him not desire to know anything, except 
how to serve God better and keep more faithfully 
the rides of his institute. 

If your charity will observe carefully these 
four maxims, in a very short time you will be¬ 
come perfect, for these maxims so help each other 
that, if you fail in one of them, you lose what you 
gained by the faithful observance of the other 
three. 


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